A female police officer accidentally shot a woman in the stomach during a friendly chat with the blunder captured on video.
CCTV footage shows the two women engaging in conversation and laughing outside a metro station in Caracas, Venezuela.
But suddenly the gun went off and the victim, Nairelis Gonzalez Avalo, 22, became seriously injured.
Officer Siomary Castillo can be seen sat on a railing swinging her leg as she showed Ms Gonzalez Avalo her gun before the terrible accident took place.
The victim appeared in agony and immediately crouched over and held her stomach as the pair rushed over to another officer for help.
She continued to double over in pain and sat down where the officer was, behind a table at the entrance of the metro.
Firefighters and Civil Protection officers reached the scene to give first aid before the victim was taken to the Domingo Luciani hospital in El Llanito for surgery.
A female police officer has accidentally shot a woman in the stomach during a friendly chat
The gun went off and the victim, Nairelis Gonzalez Avalo, 22, became seriously injured
The victim appeared in agony and immediately crouched over and held her stomach as the pair rushed over to another officer for help
She continued to double over in pain and sits down where the officer was, behind a table at the entrance of the metro
A doctor at the hospital was quoted by local media as saying: ‘The patient’s condition is delicate, but she is in a stable condition.’
Authorities have not confirmed the severity of the injuries suffered during the incident.
A spokesman for the Bolivarian National Police said: ‘Everything points to a regrettable accident with the firearm.’
The force has opened an internal investigation to establish how the weapon came to be fired.
