Claire Taylor

ctaylor@theadvertiser.com

Four Lafayette Parish Sheriff's deputies were injured Monday when a gun accidentally discharged at the sheriff's office shooting range.

A gun was accidentally discharged one time around 10 a.m. Monday at the Lafayette Parish Sheriff's Office shooting range on Michael Ann Drive, Public Information Officer John Mowell told The Daily Advertiser.

"The bullet ricocheted and broke up," he said. "On impact, it broke up, creating some shrapnel."

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Four deputies suffered minor injuries from the shrapnel. One deputy, Mowell said, had shrapnel under the knee. All four were treated and released.

The deputy who accidentally discharged the gun was not injured. Mowell was not aware whether the deputy was placed on administrative leave, but an investigation is underway.

"Any time there's an accidental discharge, it's something that's going to be investigated to fully determine the cause so we can analyze protocols," he said.

The shooting range is open to the public at times, but it used primarily by deputies.