A on duty U.S. Secret Service (USSS) officer was injured in Washington, D.C., Saturday night after accidentally shooting himself.
According to a Fox News report, the “negligent discharge” occurred near 32nd and Fessenden streets in the northwest section of the city just before 8 p.m.
The agent, who was on duty, was handling his service weapon when the firearm discharged.
According to the report, the agent’s injuries were not life-threatening, and he was taken to an area hospital for treatment and evaluation.
Lt. Paul Mayhair, a public information officer with the USSS Uniformed Division, added that there were no reported injuries to any other individuals.
The Secret Service’s Office of Professional Responsibility will be reviewing the facts and circumstances of this incident.
While this appears to be an isolated incident, it comes at a time when the Secret Service is already under intense scrutiny in the wake of the attempted assassinations against former President Donald Trump.
According to a report from The Hill, fewer than one-third of U.S. adults rate the U.S. Secret Service’s job performance as “excellent” or “good” in the latest Gallup survey, marking a new low for the federal agency tasked with protecting the country’s political leaders.
The survey released Monday marked the first time in the last decade that more Americans rated the Secret Service’s performance as poor, at 36 percent, than they rated it excellent or good, at a combined 32 percent. Another 25 percent rated the agency’s performance as “only fair.”