An Arkansas deputy returned to his patrol car Sunday to find the vehicle engulfed in flames with his issued shotgun inside, causing several rounds to go off, officials said.
A Jefferson County sheriff's office deputy was sent to a 911 call in the 9300 block of Middle Warren Road around noon Sunday, according to a news release. When he returned to his Ford Crown Victoria, which had his shotgun inside, he saw flames coming up from the engine compartment and immediately radioed for help, officials said.
The Highway 15 Volunteer Fire Department came to extinguish the fire, though not before several rounds of live ammunition went off inside the car, police said.
The shotgun was removed from the vehicle, and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
“Thankfully the deputy was unharmed. Property can be replaced but a life cannot," spokesman and operations commander Maj. Lafayette Woods Jr said in the release.