Police officer father shoots 15-year-old son in the head causing grave injury

District attorney says apparent accident was ‘tragic event’

The Jacksonville Police Department (Google Street View)

A police officer in North Carolina has reportedly been put on administrative leave after he shot his 15-year-son in an apparent accident.

Ernie Lee, the district attorney for Onslow County, said in a news release on Tuesday that he had been informed of the shooting and that an investigation was ongoing.

At approximately 4.36 pm on Monday 27 December, the father and a police officer for Jacksonville Police Department shot his son, said Mr Lee.

The teenager was taken from an address on on Haw Branch Road in Onslow County to Vidant Medical Center in Pitt County, about 60 miles north.

He sustained life threatening injuries and was in a critical condition. It meanwhile remains unclear if his father used a weapon issued by the City of Jacksonville.

“This is a tragic event and this matter remains under investigation by the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office,” Mr Lee said in a statement. “The reports, statements, and other evidence from the investigation will be provided to this office to determine what actions, if any, will be taken.”

The Jacksonville Police Department, who did not name the officer, said he had been put on administrative leave, NBC News reported.