A Russian police officer has been detained for firing his handgun at a child who accidentally kicked a ball into his car while playing with friends, Russian authorities have said.
The intoxicated 36-year-old had been parked near a courtyard in the western city of Kursk when he became “infuriated” by the ball that hit his car late on Sunday. The officer “aimed his nonlethal gun at an 11-year-old’s abdomen, then fired into the air,” regional investigators said Wednesday.
Authorities charged the unnamed cop with hooliganism, a criminal offense that carries a prison term of up to five years.
Local media said nearby adults had restrained him after he fired the gun and called the authorities.
The shooting “created an alarming situation for the child and others, disturbing their emotional balance over fears for their lives and health.”
The Kursk region’s chief of police said the officer will be fired for damaging the Interior Ministry’s reputation, the Komsomolskaya Pravda tabloid reported.
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