A Washington, D.C., police officer was fatally shot after a gun he was trying to retrieve from a storm drain on Wednesday suddenly went off, authorities said.

Investigator Wayne David, a resident of D.C., served with the Metropolitan Police Department for over 25 years and has been a part of the Violent Crimes Suppression Division since 2007, NBC reports.

“There are few words to express the hurt and pain that Officer David’s family and the entire MPD is feeling right now," Metropolitan Police Chief Pamela Smith said in a statement Wednesday. "Investigator David was the epitome of a great officer. He was a dedicated and highly respected member of the department, and this is a tremendous loss for all of us."

At a news conference Wednesday evening, Metropolitan Police Executive Assistant Chief Jeff Carroll described the incident that resulted in David's death.

At approximately 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday, officers were patrolling an area on the outskirts of Northeast Washington when they spotted someone leave a "suspicious vehicle."

When officers tried contacting the person, he fled and jumped down from a wall onto Interstate 295. Police then saw him place a firearm in a storm drain before fleeing on the back of a motorcycle. It was unclear whether he knew the person driving the motorcycle, Carroll said.

When David went to retrieve the firearm from the drain, the gun suddenly went off and struck him in the "upper body area." A helicopter took him to a nearby hospital, where he died later in the evening.

David is survived by his son, daughter, and girlfriend.