Wigan ‘Billy the Kid’ police officer accidentally fired his gun in a station

‘Billy the Kid’ police officer accidentally fired his gun in a station ‘while spinning it around his hand’

  • A police officer misfired a blank-firing pistol at Leigh Police Station in Wigan
  • He was not firearms trained and span it in his hand, according to a source
  • The officer responsible was taken off duty for the rest of the day and spoken to 

A police officer is under fire after he accidentally shot a gun inside a station while allegedly ‘spinning it around in his hand like Billy The Kid’.

The blank-firing pistol was being booked in and processed when it was discharged at at Leigh Police Station in Wigan, Greater Manchester.

Nobody was harmed but a source said several officers in the room froze in shock when they heard the loud gunshot.

A source, who said the officer was not firearms trained, said: ‘He was spinning it around in his hand like “Billy The Kid”, causing the gun to fire.

A police officer is under fire after he accidentally shot a blank-firing gun while allegedly spinning it around his finger at Leigh Police Station in Wigan, Greater Manchester (pictured)

‘This is a really serious incident, and they shouldn’t get away with it just because they’re a cop.

‘They didn’t know the gun was blank-firing at the time, but they were still messing around with it.

‘If the pistol had been loaded with bullets, someone could have been killed..’

The incident happened at Leigh Police Station on December 15 and an investigation was launched by Greater Manchester Police.

A source, who said the officer was not firearms trained, said: 'He was spinning it around in his hand like "Billy The Kid".' Pictured: Paul Newman as Billy Kid in The Left Handed Gun

A source, who said the officer was not firearms trained, said: ‘He was spinning it around in his hand like “Billy The Kid”.’ Pictured: Paul Newman as Billy Kid in The Left Handed Gun

The officer responsible was taken off duty for the rest of the day and was spoken to by a senior officer regarding his conduct after the incident.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: ‘On Tuesday 15 December 2020 a blank-firing pistol was discharged by an officer while the item was being booked-in to property and processed at Leigh police station.

‘No one present was hurt and no damage was caused.

‘An investigation commenced immediately, and the officer was taken off front-line duty for his shift that day and spoken to by a senior officer who strongly advised him of his conduct.’