Photo by Armand galang
SAN JOSE CITY — A police officer who was confined in a hospital here due to Covid-19 succumbed to a bullet wound from his own gun in an “accidental firing” incident Sunday morning.
City police chief Lt. Col. Criselda de Guzman identified the fatality as Police Staff Sergeant Reynante Menia, 43, resident of Zane 1, Barangay Villa Joson this city and detailed at Rizal town police station.
De Guzman said Menia was admitted at the Ospital ng Lungsod ng San Jose after being tested positive for Covid-19 on Oct. 8.
“Menia died on the spot after he accidentally shot himself, while cleaning his 9MM Piettro Berretta pistol which he regularly does,” probers said. Police said it was Menia’s wife who called the duty nurse after hearing a gunshot.
“The lifeless body of the victim was then found with a gunshot wound on his head,” police added.
Probers recovered the victim’s pistol with serial number SN N64539Z loaded with a magazine containing eight cartridges, along with a deformed slug and a spent shell near his body.