A POLICE officer was rushed to hospital after suffering a gunshot wound during a training exercise in Colchester.
The officer, who is a part of the Met’s Specialist Firearms Command, was taking part in a training exercise at what is believed to be at the Fingringhoe Ranges site.
The Gazette understands the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
The Met confirmed the officer was taken to and treated in hospital.
A full statement reads: "A Met Police officer was treated in hospital following an incident at a Ministry of Defence training facility in Colchester on Wednesday, April 17.
"The officer, who is attached to the Met’s Specialist Firearms Command, was taking part in a training exercise when he sustained a gunshot wound.
"His injuries were assessed as non-life threatening and he has now been discharged from hospital.
"While the full circumstances will be the subject of a thorough investigation, initial indications are that this was an accident and that no other officers were directly involved.
"We are providing the officer and his colleagues with our full support."
Fingringhoe Ranges, in Lodge Lane, is used by the British Army to train its troops.
Last month, the ranges saw soldiers from Colchester taking aim with a new sight which uses AI to help them shoot drones out of the sky.
The 16 Air Assault Brigade was the first to be issued with the new SmartShooter SMASH Smart Weapon Sight Fire Control System.
It gives soldiers on the ground a high probability of shooting down small Uncrewed Air Systems (UAS) being flown to find and target their positions.
At Fingringhoe Ranges troops from across the brigade trained as counter-UAS specialists to then teach colleagues in their units.
SMASH, mounted on the standard issue SA80 A3 assault rifle, uses image processing software to detect a UAS in the sight’s field of view.
It displays a box around the target, tracks and predicts its movement, and only allows the rifle to fire when it is aligned to hit.
The outside green spaces, including the army training areas, are used by avid walkers when training is not being carried out.
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