A middle school student in Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province, was injured after a police officer accidentally fired a Taser while trying to show the device to a group of students, news reports said Friday.
The incident occurred at around 4:30 p.m. Thursday in a vacant lot in Daeso-eup. About 10 middle school students asked the officer to show them how the Taser worked, and he tried to use its stun gun function, which delivers an electric shock without firing the probes.
However, the officer was unaware that a cartridge containing the probes was still attached to the Taser. When he tried to use the stun gun function, the probes were fired, with one striking a middle school student standing 3 to 4 meters away in the thigh. The other probe brushed past the student's left wrist.
Police said the student showed no signs of injury at the scene and was advised to go home. The student later began to feel pain and was hospitalized for treatment.
Authorities plan to investigate the officer's handling of the incident and determine whether disciplinary action is needed.
cjh@heraldcorp.com
