A U.S. Park Police officer will remain behind bars in a Fairfax County jail cell after shooting a fellow officer with a gun he thought wasn’t loaded. 

The incident occurred on Nov. 5, 2023, in a northern Virginia apartment. At the time of the shooting, four people were in the apartment, including three off-duty Park Police officers, as reported by Just the News. 

Authorities said that alcohol could have played a role in the fatal shooting. 

“Apparently they were dry firing and the weapon discharged,” Fairfax County Police Lt. James Curry said.

Alexander Roy was recently charged in connection to the death of fellow Park Police Officer Jesse Brown Hernandez. 

Off-duty US Park Police officer accidentally kills other officer, officials say https://t.co/gamBBEuNbF

— Just the News (@JustTheNews) November 7, 2023

Police said that Roy had been handling a gun he thought didn’t have bullets in it. It turns out that the gun was, indeed, loaded when it struck 22-year-old Hernandez, leading to his death, as reported by Fox 5. 

“A shooting where it’s an unintentional shooting, there’s a lot of emotions that are involved in this, not just the moments of, but even the lifetime after this right now. So they certainly were met with a chaotic scene trying to quickly determine what happened, account for everyone involved, and officers were able to quickly work through that process,” Curry told Fox 5. 

A neighbor who heard the entire incident unfold told Fox 5 that an argument was taking place before the gunshot was fired. 

“There was definitely some people gathering and some type of conflict, some woman screaming stop, we weren’t exactly sure what was going on,” Joy Dawkins said. 

“I went out later to walk my dog, and that’s when we saw the building surrounded. Officers at the front desk, and I saw a detective just circling the building, and we weren’t exactly sure what was going on then.” Dawkins added. 

Roy now faces an involuntary manslaughter charge. He is currently being held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, per Just the News. 

U.S. Park Police released a statement following the tragic incident, saying that its main focus is on “supporting the family, friends and coworkers” of Hernandez.