Police officer's son shot, killed (weekend update)

CRESTVIEW - A 10-year-old boy, the son of a police officer, was accidentally shot and killed Friday morning at his home, lawmen said.

Zachary Bass was fatally wounded at about 9:45 a.m., according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office (see press release below).

The gun, a hunting shotgun, went off in his 15-year-old brother's hands.

"Four children were at home at the time, but no one else was injured," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Michele Nicholson.

Zachary's father, Crestview Police patrolman Hank Bass, was working when the shooting occurred.

"The mom and dad are really struggling right now," said Okaloosa County Superintendent of Schools Alexis Tibbetts "It's just been a difficult time."

Grief counselors immediately went to Walker Elementary School, where Bass attended.

"We're doing what we can to meet the needs of our students," said Walker principal Jeanine Kirkland.

Crestview Police Chief Brian Mitchell turned over the shooting investigation to the Sheriff's Office.

"We don't want to cloud our judgment either emotionally or factually since it involves one of our own," Mitchell said.

Tibbetts said the family's church was reaching out to support them.

Police work ran through the Bass family. Hank's father, Marvin Bass, was the assistant police chief in Crestview until he retired last year. Marvin's father also was a police officer.

In 2005, Hank Bass crawled into a burning house to help a disabled man escape. Afterward, Bass was taken to the hospital, suffering from smoke inhalation.

Nicholson said an investigation into the shooting was ongoing. Lawmen didn't indicate how the shotgun was accessible or why the children were home from school.

"The one thing they know is it was a tragic accident," Nicholson said.