VARDEN, PA — No charges will be filed against a school official who accidentally discharged his weapon in the Western Wayne High School. The Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards said the investigation of the incident was completed on February 27, and that findings indicated that the officer, Paul Semler, should not be prosecuted.

Edwards said that Semler had his gun out for cleaning, and the fact that it accidentally went off does not rise to the charge of reckless endangerment. She said for that charge to be lodged there would have had to have been evidence that Semler took unjustifiable risks and behaved in a way that a reasonable person would not have.

She said that the gun went off when it was pointed down away from himself and another school staff member who was in the room at the time. She said the evidence shows that the bullet from the gun eventually lodged in a concrete floor after piercing Semler’s desk, and that the gun was not pointed at a person at any point.

The incident occurred on February 18, and Semler was temporarily suspended from his position. The investigation began the same day and was performed by Chief Detective Peter Hower, and included interviews with school officials and Semler, and an examination of the physical evidence.