Police officer’s stolen gun used in shooting

A Brandon woman is recovering after she was shot with a police officer's stolen revolver.

It began when police were called to a home in Brandon's west end just after midnight Wednesday. A 19-year-old woman got into an altercation with a 29-year-old man, and she was assaulted, police said.

Officers say the man then went to another room where he had a handgun and apparently he mishandled the weapon. It went off, and the bullet went through the wall and hit the woman in the buttocks.

The revolver in this case, a .22 caliber Smith and Wesson, was the same one stolen from an RM of Whitehead police vehicle, which was reported missing to police on Jan. 12.

The revolver was the officer's personal weapon and not an official police gun.

The man has been charged with a number of offences including domestic assault and careless use of a firearm. He was allegedly intoxicated, which breached his bail conditions for previous offences.

The theft of the police vehicle is still under investigation and further charges may be pending, police said.