Poland’s Military Police, investigating the shooting of a migrant on the Polish-Belarusian border, have said the incident was caused when a soldier stumbled and discharged his weapon by accident.

News of the incident was posted on social media by humanitarian aid activists on Saturday and was later confirmed by the local prosecutor’s office.

The injured man was taken to a nearby hospital in the town of Hajnowka. His personal details are being established, as he was not carrying any documents.

The first findings of the Military Police investigation, Radoslaw Wiszenko, the Bialystok Prosecutor’s deputy for military affairs, told PAP were that the soldier, had tripped and accidently fired his rifle.

According to Iwo Sawa, a spokesperson of the Poland’s Military Police, the soldier had at first fired so-called alarm shots to notify another border patrol about a group of illegal migrants.

“The soldier stumbled and fired a shot in an uncontrolled direction, and the mishap happened,” Sawa added.

The case is being investigated under the military section of the Penal Code on the reckless handling of weapons and causing unintentional injury to another person.

Depending on the consequences of the gunshot, the soldier faces up to three years or, in the case of severe injuries or the death of the injured person, up to eight years in prison.

The documents, evidence, and medical records secured by the Military Police are to be delivered to the prosecutor’s office.