Justin Bieber hit a paparazzo with his car Wednesday night after leaving City Church in Beverly Hills, police confirm to PEOPLE.
Lt. Scott Dowling of the Beverly Hills Police Department tells PEOPLE the accident occurred outside the Saban Theater at 9:24 p.m. According to Lt. Dowling, the victim, identified as Maurice Lamont, suffered non-life threatening injuries and was transported to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
According to a source on the scene, Bieber, 23, was trying to drive away from the church but a slew of photographers was at the end of the driveway. “He tried to scare away the paparazzi but as he neared the group, he accidentally hit one of the photographers who was in his path,” the source tells PEOPLE.
Photos taken at the scene show Bieber got out of his car to check to see if Lamont was okay.
“Justin was surrounded by paparazzi leaving church services and accidentally grazed or came into contact with one of the paps surrounding his truck. To say he ‘ran over’ or ‘hit’ the guy is misleading and an overstatement and implies something much more grave than what happened,” a source close to Bieber tells PEOPLE.
“Justin immediately stopped, called 911 himself, stayed with the guy and the police, fully cooperated and as I understand it, was released from the scene without citation.”
A rep for Bieber had no comment.
Also pictured at the scene: Bieber’s former fling Kourtney Kardashian, who occasionally attends the church as well. The reality star enjoyed dinner at Craig’s before heading over to the theater, and was photographed going to her car after Bieber’s accident.
On Thursday, Lamont gave his version of events via Instagram, straight from his hospital bed.
“Hanging in there everybody … Hour before my birthday hits, I get ran over by Justin Bieber. Isn’t that something? He’s a good kid, though. I think the truck was a little bit too big for him though ’cause there’s no way he could see over the front — the slope it was on.”
He added, “But like I said: He got out, he was compassionate, he’s a good kid, accidents happen. Hopefully everything works out here. Getting ready to go into X-ray right now!”
Earlier this week, a rep for the singer revealed the singer was canceling the remaining dates of his Purpose World Tour “due to unforeseen circumstances“; following the announcement, Beliebers around the world unleashed tweets voicing their frustration.
A friend of Bieber’s told PEOPLE why the “Sorry” singer needed a break from his grueling schedule on the road.
“He didn’t feel like he could give the rest of the tour as much energy as his fans deserve,” says the friend of Bieber’s decision to call it quits. “He is a perfectionist and didn’t want to disappoint fans with some half-ass performance. He thinks his fans deserve and should expect the same performance at the end of the tour as in the beginning. He just didn’t have that passion right now. He is truly exhausted.”
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