Officials say Sallisaw police officer was fired after admitting that he shot himself, lied

A Sallisaw police officer was fired Tuesday after he admitted to shooting himself in the chest and blaming it on another man, Police Chief Shaloa Edwards said.

Officer Wendel Hughes, already on unpaid leave in connection with a cattle theft case, shot himself in the chest at the 14 Flags Museum in downtown Sallisaw on Monday and then called the police department and asked a dispatcher to send an officer, Edwards said.

While en route to the hospital with the officer, Hughes claimed he had been shot by Mark Sweeney, 40, whose cattle Hughes has been accused of stealing.

Sweeney was arrested shortly afterward but released after investigators learned Hughes shot himself, Edwards said.