Police say corrections worker’s gun accidentally discharged in East Bay mall

CONCORD — A weekend non-injury shooting at Sunvalley Mall has been classified as an accidental discharge after a state corrections worker stepped forward and said the gun that fired was his, authorities said Monday.

Witnesses reported just after 4 p.m. Sunday that a man had dropped a firearm near the Cinnabon restaurant, then picked up the gun and accidentally fired it one time. No one was injured.

Police reviewed surveillance-camera footage and found images of the suspect, who left the mall with a woman. They then shared an image to the department’s Facebook page, and asked for the public’s help in finding the suspect.

On Monday morning, police said in an update that the man had reached out to officers, identifying himself as a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employee and saying that the gun was legally owned and registered.

“The man’s participation was unfortunately delayed until after the department issued its statement asking for the public’s help,” Concord police Lt. Mike Kindorf said. “But he’s been fully cooperative since.”

No information was immediately available about why the man left the scene after the gun went off, but Kindorf said the department has forwarded case materials “up the chain of command” to the state department’s personnel division.

The shooting was the second accidental shooting involving a law enforcement officer at an East Bay mall over the weekend. On Saturday evening, an off-duty Oakland police officer wounded himself in a shooting at Bayfair Mall in San Leandro.

Contact George Kelly at 408-859-5180.

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