Massachusetts State Trooper Accidentally Shoots Himself

A Massachusetts state police sergeant who accidentally shot himself in the leg with a shotgun is expected to survive.

A state police spokesman said the trooper was injured Tuesday at the department's Emergency Vehicle Operations Center in Ayer when the weapon discharged as he was moving it from his old cruiser to a new vehicle he was being issued. One of his legs was struck by several buckshot pellets.

No one else was involved. State police are investigating how the discharge occurred.

State police have not released his name but said the 51-year-old sergeant is assigned to Troop H headquarters in South Boston and been with the state police since 1987.

He is being treated at UMass Medical Center in Worcester.