WA: Police officer shoots himself at police station
23 Dec 2008 2:11 PM
PERTH, Dec 23 AAP - The shooting death of a police officer at a West Australian police station was a tragic event in the lead-up to Christmas, WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan says.
Police said the 36-year-old police sergeant from Collie, south of Perth, shot himself with a police issue firearm in the station's armoury room on Monday.
The officer left behind a wife and four young children and they and his fellow officers were being offered counselling, a police spokesman said.
WA Police Commissioner Karl O'Callaghan said local officers were shocked.
"This has affected all of the police officers and their families," he told ABC Radio.
"It's a very tragic situation that's occurred at a difficult time of the year when we're moving up to Christmas."
The officer joined the force in 1993 and had been stationed in Collie for 12 months, a spokesman said.
An internal police unit was investigating the death but it was not being treated as suspicious.
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) or visit www.beyondblue.org.au.
