A 37-year-old police sergeant on leave took a handgun from an officer and shot himself in the head at a waste treatment plant in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, on Wednesday morning, leaving him unconscious and in a critical condition, the prefectural police said.
At around 8:45 a.m. on the 4th, the sergeant, who is attached to the Kasukabe police station, called 110 — Japan's emergency police number — saying he was heading to a clean center in Koshigaya and that officers should come too, according to the Saitama prefectural police. Four officers went to the grounds of the waste processing plant in 3-chome, Masubayashi, Koshigaya, and questioned him.
The sergeant then seized a handgun from one of the officers and fired it at his own head. He was taken to a hospital and remains unconscious in a critical condition.
Officers moved in to restrain him
According to the prefectural police's first investigation division and its inspector general's office, the sergeant began kicking the officers and behaving violently, and they moved to restrain him. The handgun was taken from its holster in the process. No one other than the sergeant was injured.
The sergeant, who lives in Koshigaya, had been on leave since October 29 because of illness, an investigator said.
“There was also a possibility of harm coming to a third party. We consider this something we must deeply reflect on.”the inspector general's office, in a statement
The inspector general's office released the comment after the shooting.