Holly MatkinForest Hill, TX – A Sansom Park police officer was shot in the face while participating in an active shooter training session at a Forest Hill elementary school on Saturday.
The incident occurred at David K. Sellars Elementary school at approximately 2 p.m. on Nov. 5, KDFW reported.
Sansom Park Police Department (SPPD) Officer Lina Mino was participating in the active shooter training when another officer shot her in the face at close range, according to police.
Her fellow officers rendered aid until emergency medical personnel arrived at the scene, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
Officer Mino was rushed to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, where she underwent emergency surgery, according to KDFW.
She remained hospitalized in the intensive care unit on Sunday, but was continuing to make major improvements, according to police.
Officer Mino will need to have multiple additional surgeries due to the damaged caused by the bullet, KDFW reported.
The identity of the officer who fired the live round was not immediately released.
The Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) and the Texas Rangers are handling the ongoing investigation into the shooting, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
An officer was shot during an active shooter training event.
Friends identify her as Sansom Park Officer Lina Mino. She was shot in the face, & is now in stable condition.
The training exercise was held at David Sellars Elementary School in Forest Hill.
New details @wfaa pic.twitter.com/YUmJdqjazo
— Malini Basu (@MaliniBasu_) November 7, 2022
Police officials said they believe the shooting was accidental, but it remained unclear how a live round ended up being brought into the training area.
“No reason why, in a training scenario, there would be live ammo like that in the building or in the room,” Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) Executive Director Charley Wilkison told KDFW. “Training is important, but these situations cause us all to take a pause.”
Wilkison said simunition rounds should have been the only ammunition at the training.
Simunition rounds are designed to only be fired out of guns which use a conversion kit that don’t allow for the firing of most live ammunition. Firing a live round would generally require the use of both a non-Simunition pistol and live ammunition.
“It seems like it could be avoided,” he told KDFW. “It’s the job of the officers on the ground, and the trainers, and the officers in charge to make sure nothing like this happens.”
The training session, which was hosted by the FHPD, was conducted by an unidentified third-party contractor who also provided the gear that was utilized, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
“My prayers and thoughts go out to the Sansom Park officer that was injured and family & friends,” Forest Hill Mayor Stephanie Boardingham said in a statement. “Please pray for our Forest Hill officers, all officers participating in the training and all investigators.”
Lake Worth Police Chief J.T. Manoushagian described Officer Mino as being very “kind, respectful, [and] professional,” WFAA reported.
Chief Manoushagian said he was stunned when he learned about the shooting.
“My heart almost stopped. It’s a heart-dropping moment,” he told WFAA. “It’s a complete tragedy.”
A fundraising campaign established to help Officer Mino during her recovery has raised more than $4,700 so far.
She served with the Fort Worth Police Department prior to joining the SPPD, WFAA reported.
Law enforcement officers from multiple jurisdictions have been working to cover shifts for the SPPD so Officer Mino’s coworkers could spend time with her at the hospital, where she was surrounded by supporters throughout the weekend.
We have multiple officers who volunteered to work overnight in Sansom Park to cover patrol duties and calls for service. We continue to pray for their blue family and the officer injured. pic.twitter.com/uIAQEXhvPv
— Christopher Cook (@cooktx) November 6, 2022
“There is no stronger family than the blue line family. We’ve got her back,” Chief Manoushagian told WFAA. “It’s going to be a long road of recovery.”
