A Texas police officer shot his son who he thought might be an intruder, authorities said.

The incident occurred Saturday evening when the off-duty Dallas police officer returned home and thought someone might be inside, DeSoto Police Department spokesperson Pete Schulte told reporters.

His son, who Schulte said was in his 20s, suffered a non-life-threatening wound to his arm. Schulte said the officer, who police have not named, did not realize the son was home.

"It was a mistake," Schulte said. "It was a startling situation. It was an accident."

Dallas Police Department spokesperson Warren Mitchell said in an email to USA TODAY that the department's Internal Affairs Division was conducting an administrative investigation into the incident.

The officer's garage door was open and other doors that had been unlocked were locked when the officer arrived at the home in DeSoto, a suburb of Dallas, Schulte said.

Related: 2 Dead, Several Injured in Texas A&M University Off-Campus Shooting

"It caused him to have some concern that there's something in the house. Then things happened very quickly," Schulte said.

Schulte described the officer as a "long-term veteran of the Dallas Police Department" and said DeSoto police didn't "fault him" for not calling police when he thought something might be wrong.





The officer told police he wanted to check the house out himself before he "wasted a call to 911," Schulte said.

"If you come home and something doesn't feel right, doesn't bother us at all. Go ahead and call 911 so we can come out and check it out," Schulte added.

The officer is not expected to be charged in the incident, Schulte said. "This just happens to be one of those situations where accidents do happen," Schulte said.

The incident follows the recent police shooting of Atatiana Jefferson, who was killed in her Fort Worth home earlier this month while playing video games with her nephew. Officer Aaron Dean is facing a murder charge in that case.

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In Dallas, former officer Amber Guyger was sentenced this month to 10 years in prison after she fatally shot Botham Jean in his own apartment, thinking he was an intruder in her home.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeSoto Texas police: Dallas officer shot son, thought he was intruder



