Police accidentally fired a handgun after finding it at the scene of a pile-up on a major south London road.
The weapon was discovered among the debris after a moped, car and coach crashed in Old Kent Road at about 5.30pm on Friday.
Scotland Yard has now admitted that an officer inadvertently fired the revolver while still at the scene.
A spokeswoman said: “The recovered firearm was unintentionally discharged into a ballistics bag by a Scene of Crime Officer (SOCO). No one was injured.”
The force said the Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed as a matter of course.
The crash on Friday brought rush-hour chaos to the area as buses were stacked up and unable to move.
The biker fled the scene on foot and remains “outstanding”, the Met said.
The car and coach drivers were both uninjured and neither vehicle was carrying passengers.
Police have appealed for witnesses.
Anyone who can help is asked to call police on 101 or to Crimestoppers to remain anonymous, on 0800 555 111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org.
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