EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — A veteran Eugene police sergeant has died in an off-duty, accidental shooting at a firing range southwest of Eugene.
The Register-Guard newspaper reports that 44-year-old Sgt. Jerry Webber died Friday at a private range operated by a local chapter of the Izaak Walton League.
Lane County Sheriff’s Capt. Bill Thompson says an initial investigation suggests Webber was removing a hunting rifle from the back of his vehicle when the weapon discharged, striking him once. He died at the scene. Thompson says detectives have no reason to believe the shooting was “anything other than” accidental.
Webber became a Eugene police officer in 1994 and was promoted to sergeant in 2003.
Police Chief Pete Kerns said Webber was “a man of integrity with a strong sense of duty, service and honor.”
