D.C. police officer Wayne David died on Wednesday evening after he suffered an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound while trying to recover a weapon from a storm drain, police have announced.

Officers were responding to reports of a suspicious vehicle when a man jumped out of a car, ran onto the I-295 highway and placed the gun inside a storm drain, ABC News has learned. The suspect then fled the scene on the back of a motorcycle.

When police then tried to retrieve the weapon, it went off, striking David — a 25-year veteran of the police force — in the upper torso. Other officers rendered aid and David was transferred to a local hospital.

Executive Assistant Chief of D.C. Police Jeffery Caroll told reporters earlier in the day that David — a crime scene search officer — was “trained to recover evidence and firearms,” and had recovered “hundreds of guns” in his career.