[Update] Police: Reports That Officer Shot Himself During Manchester Community College Search 'Erroneous'

Updated at 4:30 p.m.:

A Manchester Police officer injured Wednesday during an investigation into a report that there was a gunman on the Manchester Community College campus was accidentally shot with his own weapon, according to state police.

The male officer was injured when a fellow officer was helping to adjust the service weapon that the male officer had swung over his back while police searched for the alleged suspect, according to Connecticut State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance. During the adjustment, the weapon went off, Vance said.

Neither Vance nor Manchester Police Cpt. Christopher Davis would release the name of the injured officer or that of the other officer involved. Witnesses at the scene Wednesday said they saw an officer suffering from a foot injury being loaded into a police cruiser. Davis said the officer was taken to Hartford Hospital for treatment. Vance said that his injuries were not life-threatening.

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“As of right now, the discharge of the firearm was purely accidental,” Vance said Thursday afternoon.

State police have seized the weapon involved and it is being evaluated at the state lab to insure that it did not malfunction and determine what caused it to discharge.

Vance said that state police will interview the injured officer soon as part of their investigation.

Police responded to the college Wednesday afternoon when a female student reported seeing a gun sticking out of another student's waistband. As police arrived, the Manchester Community College campus was put into lock down and remained under those conditions for hours while officers and troopers searched for the reported gunman. No one matching the description has been found. 

Davis said Connecticut State Police are handling the investigation into the gunman and the incident involving the Manchester police officers.

Vance said that state police have spoken with the woman who reported that she saw a man with a gun, but that police have not been able to locate a weapon or any other witnesses.

Vance stressed that it is important for people to know that the woman who saw something strange and out of place acted appropriately by calling the police.

“That’s what we want people to do,” Vance said, adding, “if it turns out to have been someone carrying a cell phone, that’s okay. We want people to understand that if they see something that is suspicious that they should call.”

Vance said that the state police and major crimes unit, which investigate all incidents that occur in state buildings and facilities, including colleges, universities and departments, are taking the incident seriously and will continue their investigation.