An Orange County sheriff’s deputy accidentally injured his two children Friday after his firearm discharged while he was cleaning it.
Deputy Austin Ritchey was cleaning his personal firearm around 1 p.m. Friday while off duty when it accidentally fired a single round, according to a news release from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
One of his children suffered a gunshot wound, the agency said, and another was injured by shrapnel. The agency did not reveal the age or gender of the children.
The two children were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries and were back home as of Monday evening.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing, the sheriff’s office said.
Ritchey has been a deputy with the sheriff’s office since April 2024, it said.