OCALA — A north Florida police department is investigating whether its firearm protocols were followed after an officer's death during a training accident at a shooting range.
It's not yet clear whether the Ocala Police Department's regular weekly firearms training will continue next week as scheduled, said Chief Greg Graham.
Officer Jared Forsyth died Monday after being accidentally shot by another officer at the range at the Lowell Correctional Institution.
The shooting happened in an area where weapons are cleaned after the officers had completed live firing, Graham told the Ocala Star Banner (http://bit.ly/1a0UqGj ).
The second officer's weapon fired and a bullet struck Forsyth in the arm before traveling into his chest, Graham said.
Forsyth died at a hospital. He was wearing a bulletproof vest but its sides were not protected, Graham said.
"The last on-duty death that we had was 60 years ago, and words can't express the sorrow that I feel for losing an officer," Graham said.
The second officer's name has not been released. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating.
Ocala Police officers complete live firearms training twice each year. Several other officers and firearms instructors were at the range when Forsyth was shot.
Forsyth, 33, had been with the department for almost three years.