Officer John Gigantiello, an
11-year veteran assigned to the K-9 unit, accidentally discharged one round,
and suffered a graze wound to one of his hands in the process. His toddler son
required surgery, but was said to be in stable condition. Suffolk County police
are investigating; no charges have been filed
An MTA cop accidentally shot
his 3-year-old son in the gut while off-duty at his home on Long Island on
Tuesday night, authorities said.
Officer John Gigantiello, an
11-year veteran assigned to the K-9 unit, suffered a graze wound to one of his
hands when the weapon discharged inside his home on Devon Lane in Smithtown
about 7 p.m., Suffolk County police said on Wednesday.
Only one round was fired, and
the circumstances under which the discharge occurred were not immediately
revealed by police officials.
Emergency responders from the
Smithtown Fire Department rushed Gigantiello, 40, and his son to St. Catherine
of Siena Medical Center, in Smithtown, for treatment. The boy was then
transferred to Stony Brook University Hospital, where he underwent surgery to
remove the bullet. He was in stable condition on Wednesday, as was his father.
Gigantiello has not been
charged, police said. An investigation was underway.
The Metropolitan Transportation
Authority Police Department also will conduct an investigation, according to
agency spokesman Sal Arena.
“We are aware of the incident,
and once the Suffolk County police complete their investigation, the Internal
Affairs Bureau of the MTA police will do [its] own inquiry,” Arena said.
Gigantiello was out on sick
leave on Wednesday, according to an MTA source. “He has a clean disciplinary
record,” the source added.
Gigantiello joined the MTA
Police Department’s K-9 Unit in 2007. He named the first police dog in his care
“Sarge,” after Sgt. James McNaughton, a police officer killed by a sniper in
Baghdad while serving with the U.S. Army.
Sarge retired previously and
has since passed away, agency sources said.
