Accidental discharge of gun leaves three officers with minor in

WICHITA, Kan. -- Three warrant officers suffered minor injuries Friday when a handgun discharged as one of the officers returned the firearm to his holster, authorities said.

The gun went off around 2:30 p.m. Friday as the Wichita warrant officer prepared to leave the Sedgwick County Adult Detention Center after booking a prisoner, said deputy chief Robert Lee.

The officer, whose name was not released, had removed the gun from his holster and left it in a secure area before he entered the booking area, as department policy requires, Lee said.

Police were investigating what caused the firearm to discharge as the officer returned it to his holster.

The gun grazed the officer's thigh, hit the concrete floor and broke into fragments. The pieces then traveled backward, striking another warrant officer in the left forearm and a third warrant officer above the eye, Lee said.

All three were taken to St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Wichita, where one officer had been treated and released, and the other two were expected to be released later Friday, the hospital's house manager said.