No one hit in accidental shooting in Santa Rosa state building

A state food and drug officer accidentally fired his gun Wednesday morning inside the state building in downtown Santa Rosa and the bullet lodged in the ceiling of a nearby unemployment office where a hearing was underway.

No one was injured and the shooting was deemed accidental, said CHP Sgt. Allan Capurro.

The officer, who wasn't identified, told investigators he was conducting a safety check of his semi-automatic Glock handgun when it fired.

"He missed the final round," Capurro said.

The California Food and Drug Department office is on the third floor of the four-story building. It's adjacent to the state unemployment office where judges conduct appeal hearings.

At about 10:30 a.m. a .40-caliber bullet pierced a food and drug office wall about seven feet above the floor, crossed a hallway and went through the upper section of a tall wooden door into the unemployment hearing room. It came to rest above the heads of those in the room and about 30 feet from where it was fired.

"It was loud. You don't expect to hear that in the midst of a hearing," said Judge Peter Wercinski, who was presiding in the room that was hit.

Judge Gerald Kelly was next door.

"What the hell is that?" thought Kelly, later recounting the incident. "It came through the wall right next to my office."

The hearing was delayed while the judges sorted out what happened. Wercinski spotted the hole in the ceiling and Kelly called 911, reporting gunfire in the state building.

"Sometimes we deal with disgruntled people," said Kelly said, who initially wondered if that was what had prompted the shooting.

The call brought several Santa Rosa police officers to the D Street building. The officer who fired the gun also called police to alert them.

The officer was described as a veteran with the state department who was shaken by the incident.

Once police verified the accidental nature of the shooting, the incident was turned over to the CHP, which has jurisdiction over state buildings.

"It was definitely fortunate nobody was hurt," said Capurro.

Ron Owens, a California Department of Public Health spokesman, would not release the officer's name, citing employee confidentiality concerns. He said the officer was placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

"This was an unusual incident," Owens said. "We're looking to see if all protocols and procedures were in place. Fortunately, no one was injured. But we're very concerned about it. We want to make sure it never happens again."

Owens said two armed officers with the food and drug branch of the department are assigned to the Santa Rosa office to enforce laws and investigate crimes such as food and product tampering, health fraud and false advertising. They work in conjunction with county health officers, he said.

"We have investigators throughout the state," Owens said.

Meanwhile, the gunshot rattled nerves of workers and visitors in the cavernous state building.

"It was freaky," said Erica Baca, who was waiting at the unemployment office for her hearing.

"I heard a big ol' bang," said Antonio Baca, who had accompanied his wife. "I thought a door slammed."

"It was loud. We had no idea what it was," said Bonnie Brudid, who also was waiting her turn in the unemployment office.

"What are they doing with a gun in a government building?" Brudid said.