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Saitama Police Officer Critically Injured After Seizing Gun and Shooting Himself

SAITAMA - A 37-year-old police sergeant from the Saitama Prefectural Police Department was left unconscious and in critical condition after grabbing a handgun from another officer and shooting himself in the head at a waste treatment facility in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, on November 4.

According to police, the sergeant, who was assigned to Kasukabe Police Station, called the emergency number 110 at around 8:40 a.m., claiming that his son had been abducted on his way to school and that he was heading toward a waste treatment facility in Koshigaya.

Officers from Koshigaya Police Station rushed to the facility, where they found the sergeant behaving violently. As they attempted to restrain him, he seized a handgun carried by one of the responding officers and fired a shot into his own head.

The sergeant was transported to a hospital, where he remained unconscious and in critical condition.

None of the officers who responded to the incident were injured. Police said they had found no evidence to support the sergeant's claim that his son had been abducted.

The Saitama Prefectural Police Department's chief inspector said the department would work to determine the cause of the incident and take measures to prevent a recurrence.

Source: TBS

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