DEA Agent Shoots Self During Gun Safety Class

[auxilary]

DEA Agent Shoots Self During Gun Safety Class

 

POSTED: 11:27 am EDT April 30, 2004

 

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A federal drug agent shot himself in the leg during a gun safety presentation to children and his bosses are investigating.

 

The Drug Enforcement Administration agent, whose name was not released, was giving a gun safety presentation to about 50 adults and students organized by the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association, witnesses and police said.

 

He drew his .40-caliber duty weapon and removed the magazine, according to the police report. Then he pulled back the slide and asked someone in the audience to look inside the gun and confirm it wasn't loaded, the report said.

 

Witnesses said the gun was pointed at the floor and when he released the slide, one shot fired into the top of his left thigh.

 

"The kids screamed and started to cry," said Vivian Farmer, who attended the presentation with her 13-year-old nephew.

 

"Everyone was pretty shaken up," Farmer said. "But the point of gun safety hit home. Unfortunately, the agent had to get shot. But after seeing that, my nephew doesn't want to have anything to do with guns."

 

The agent was treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center after the April 9 shooting and returned to work, DEA special agent Joe Kilmer said.

 

Police ruled the shooting was an accident, but the DEA headquarters in Washington was still investigating, Kilmer said.

 

 

 

Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

 

 

 

 

http://www.local6.com/news/3254509/detail.html

[Kevin Shasteen]

The good point is that atleast he was pointing the gun downward.

 

The stupidity of this is a gun safety class of 50+ adults and kids (?). Gun safety should be one-on-one not in hordes...too big of a distractioin!

 

Guns are not toys and he/they (the DEA) had no business giving a gun safety class to more than a few people at a time.

 

I bet his leg isnt hurting half as much as his ego will be when he returns to work! Do you think this will go on his record?. I wonder if this will hinder his climbing the DEA corp. latter.

 

Kevin,

(Yea,Still an Inliner)

[GetInTheZ]

well Ive grown up with guns all my life and that is probably the best way to teach it I bet all the people there will think twice hell 50 times before playing with a gun even though stupid dea agents shouldnt teach it

[JMortensen]

My uncle is a gun nut, was in the army, and was president of a gun company in the 80's. He is a safety nut, and always told me "At some point, you WILL have an accident." His happened when he was cleaning his .454 Casull. Somehow he managed to fire one off in his bedroom and it went through 6 pieces of .5" thick oak cabinet, through a brick wall then through a 3' diameter pine tree. They couldn't find the bullet after that. Keep in mind he's been HEAVILY involved in guns in one way or another for the past 50+ years.

 

Sounds to me like this guy's hand slipped off the slide when he was opening it. Not sure how that would cause the gun to fire, but seems to me reasonably accidental. Unless it was a glock and he fired it when the slide closed because his finger was on the trigger. That would have been exceedingly dumb...

 

I have to applaud 50 people for going to a firearms safety course in the first place. I don't think that it's unreasonable for 50 people to be there, but having the gun loaded was unwise. If they wanted to show what the gun looked like loaded they could have just used some of those plastic safety cap bullets.

 

Jon

[Guest BigWhyteDude]

Your uncle is right. I am an avid hunter and my dad insisted that i carry one of his glocks on me when i go out in the woods. Any way it was a waisted day as we didnt see anything. At some point i took the pistol out of the chest holster i use and set it on the tailgate of my truck. My buddy i was with picked it up and started looking over it. I went to "take care of some buisness" while he looked at it. When i got back he handed it back to me. I stuck it in the holster. Apparently he racked the slide back and put a round in the chamber and didnt tell me. When we got back to his house i unloaded my rifle and put it in my gun case, i pulled out the glock and ejected the magazine from it and started to take it apart. ( it would not fit in my gun box assembled) to take the glocks apart there is a step where you have to pull the trigger. I pulled it and it went off. The bullet went through a wall into thier bathroom hit the tub and went strait up throu the 2nd floor into the attic. It was NOT a pleasent experiance. It scared the crap out of me. I thought i had accedentaly killed someone. We ended up finding the bullet, i took it and i now wear it on my key ring for a reminder to myself. This happened about 2 and half years ago now,

 

Andrew

[Mikelly]

BWD, I own (And have for 15 years) Glocks, and now own the Model 27 .40 cal Mini. They are great guns, but like any gun, require respect.

 

When I was at the federal law enfrocement academy in Glynn County, Ga. we regularly had accidental discharges of firearms. There is a HUGE misconception about police officers when it comes to three things: Firearms, Driving, Physical Fitness.

 

More officers have accidental shootings in the first two years, and then in MID-career. The first is obvious. A new officer gets in a hurry, shortcuts and makes a mistake. The second is less obvious, but more dangerous. The more they handle guns day in and day out, things become to routine. One phone call, interuptive conversation, or distraction breaks habit, and the whole process takes a wrong turn... Then ... BANG! Happens a LOT more than is usually reported!

 

Mike 8)

[Georgia Flash]

Treat all guns as if they are loaded at all times...period!

 

I carry a Glock .40cal on duty and have carried a 9mm Smith & Wesson and have always treated them with respect.

 

During my career, going on 15 years now, I have only seen 2 accidental discharges by officers of the two departments that I have worked for. One with the Smith 9mm and one with the 12 gauge shotgun.