Polish police chief accidentally fires grenade launcher given as gift by Ukraine; injured

Poland's police chief Jaroslaw Szymczyk was injured after he accidentally fired a grenade launcher gifted by Ukraine, news agency Reuters reported on Saturday citing Polish media. The explosion took place on Wednesday damaging a ceiling in the building. Szymczyk and two others suffered injuries.

Earlier, Poland's interior ministry had not confirmed media reports that the explosion was caused by the grenade launcher. The Polish police, on the other hand, said on Thursday it was investigating "an act consisting of unintentionally causing a violent release of energy that threatened the life or health of many people or property."

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Speaking to RMF FM, Szymczyk said, "When I was moving the used grenade launchers, which were gifts from the Ukrainians, there was an explosion." He added that he was moving the grenade launchers into an upright position.

The police chief had received the two grenade launchers as presents during his visits to the police and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, RMF reported citing a source from a Polish delegation that visited the war-torn country.

The source added that officials assured the delegation that the launchers were not loaded, adding the delegation took them back to Warsaw before leaving them in the back room of Szymczyk's office. However, this news is not yet confirmed, Reuters further reported on Saturday.

Szymczyk has been criticised over the explosion. Polish media reported that commentators with backgrounds in the security services said that military equipment should not have been taken into Poland from outside the European Union (EU) or taken into an office.

(With inputs from agencies)

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