Phoenix officer injured after accidental firing of duty weapon while at precinct

An officer was taken to a hospital Monday morning after he accidentally fired his duty weapon, injuring himself.

The incident occurred around 9:30 a.m. at the Phoenix Police Department's South Mountain Precinct, near 7th and Southern avenues.

The officer was in the back parking lot of the precinct when he had an "accidental discharge of his duty weapon," according to officials.

He reportedly had an injury to his lower body which is considered non-life-threatening.

The officer was taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries.

An internal investigation into the incident is underway.

This incident comes just weeks after Scottsdale Detective Ryan So lost his life in the line of duty.

ABC15 sat with Lon Bartel, who served with Peoria Police for decades and has a long history with law enforcement and firearms training.

"As I understand the information, there are two very different circumstances in which that occurred," said Bartel about the two incidents.

He said that starting at the academy, officers are taught the four basic safety rules when it comes to firearms. But even with that instruction, Bartel told ABC15 he's still seen some puzzling situations. But, he said, what the Valley has seen with these incidents are still "rare".

"So, you know, just because they've had two in the valley doesn't necessarily mean there's any relationship to them as far as causality or what actually occurred," said Bartel.

He said people will have to be patient and wait to see the results of the investigation. Bartel told ABC15 that those can take quite a while, and it all depends on different factors.