US Park Police officer shoots fellow officer with gun he thought was unloaded, cops say

An attempt to dry fire a gun turned deadly when a U.S. Park Police officer was killed in an off-duty accident caused by a fellow officer, Virginia police say.

Police found U.S. Park Police Officer Jesse Brown Hernandez, 22, dead with “a gunshot wound to the upper body” in a McLean apartment, according to a Nov. 5 Fairfax County Police Department news release.

Another off-duty officer, 25-year-old Alexander Roy, accidentally shot Hernandez, police said. Roy was charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Fairfax officers arrived to the apartment at about 12:20 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5, according to the release. They had received a report that someone had been shot, police said.

The shooting happened when Roy tried to dry fire a gun, which is when someone shoots a gun that isn’t loaded, according to police. Instead of discharging an empty firearm, police said Roy fatally shot Hernandez.

There were four people in the apartment when Hernandez was shot, police said, and three of them were U.S. Park Police officers. Police said they believe alcohol was a factor in the incident.

The U.S. Park Police told McClatchy News in an email that it was aware of the shooting and was focused on “supporting the family, friends and coworkers of our employees involved in this tragic incident.” The law enforcement agency declined to comment any further on the accident.

Roy is being held with no bond, according to police. The shooting’s circumstances are still under investigation by Fairfax detectives, officials said.

McLean is about 10 miles northwest of Washington, D.C.

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