DEA agent shoots self during gun safety class for Orlando kids

The Miami Herald ^ | Fri, Apr. 30, 2004 | Associated Press

[archy]

DEA agent shoots self during gun safety class for Orlando kids

Associated Press

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.

[archy]

Didn't Maryland Governor Glendenning have something like this happen while demonstrating trigger locks?

He found himself unable to release a safety lock, I believe. If he let off a round while demonstrating one, I'm not aware of it, but I certainly wouldn'y be surprised. But I know someone whgo might know a little more about it than I do.

[hattend]

But don't you dare allow the NRA's "Eddie Eagle Program" in that school.

[hattend]

Folks, We have a 2004 Darwin award winner

I think you have to die in order to win. He's merely a wannabe.

[xsrdx]

Pretty damned pathetic

What qualifies a DEA Special Agent to teach firearms safety? Was he NRA certified?

Merely having a badge DOES NOT make you a "firearms safety expert". He should have stuck to the DARE speech and kept the gun holstered.

[BenLurkin]

Glock is an astonishingly easy pistol to operate.

Remove magazine, work slide, eyeball chamber and barrel, it is unloaded.

[BenLurkin]

Ping

[Mr.Atos]

In that case, I am happy to be corrected... and that he lives to learn from his mistake.

[B4Ranch]

>>Some agencies, FBI I am sure about, never never surrender or unload their weapons. They are always armed.<<

How do you clean a loaded weapon?

[The kings dead]

Wasn't the point that kids wouldn't want to have anything to do with drugs?

I gathered from the article that it was a gun safety presentation. I think it'll be a positive outcome if the kids don't want to have anything to do with the DEA.

[ought-six]

"Something isn't adding up, I bet he forgot to take the mag out first."

The idiot had already chambered a round, thenm he removed the magazine, less one round. What a maroon!

[glock rocks]

How do you clean a loaded weapon?

Apparently you have to find a Youth Club first :o)

[ought-six]

"What the HELL was he doing bringing in a LOADED Gun into a school??"

Exactly.

[The kings dead]

close enough for government work.

I think that's the DEA motto.

[ought-six]

He had to have pulled back the slide BEFORE he removed the magazine. Which Gun-Handling 101 tells you NEVER to do, unless you are intent on shooting that one round at that time.

[Badray]

"If he did both (remove the mag. & pull back the slide) why was there still a round in the gun?"

It's because those guns are evil. They're just plain evil.

Oh, one other thing. Some people are just plain stupid.

[evets]

orlandsentinel.com

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is investigating an incident in which one of its agents giving a presentation to Orlando-area children on gun safety shot himself in the thigh.

Orlando police investigators have ruled the April 9 shooting at The Callahan Center, 101 N. Parramore Ave., accidental, police Lt. Curley Bowman said Thursday night.

But DEA special agent Joe Kilmer said Thursday night that an internal investigation led by officials at the agency's headquarters in Washington was still ongoing. Kilmer would not release the name of the agent involved. After the agent was treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center for a gunshot wound to his left thigh, he returned to work, Kilmer said.

Vivian Farmer, 52, was in a classroom at The Callahan Center with her 13-year-old nephew when the agent began his presentation about 7 p.m. Roughly 50 adults and children were present, and it was "standing room only," Farmer said Thursday night.

The presentation was part of a class called "The Game of Life, The Game of Golf," according to a police report. It was held by the Orlando Minority Youth Golf Association, which aims to introduce minority children to the sport. The agent was speaking to the youths about making good life choices and included a presentation on gun safety, according to the report.

During the speech, the agent drew his .40-caliber duty weapon and removed the magazine, the report said. He then pulled back the slide and asked a man in the audience to look inside the weapon to make sure it was not loaded, the report said.

"The person nodded that it didn't have ammunition," Farmer recounted. "The gun was never pointed at anyone."

Witnesses told police that the agent kept his gun pointed toward the floor and when he released the slide, the weapon fired one shot into the top of his thigh.

"The kids screamed and started to cry," Farmer recounted. "My first thought was that it was part of his presentation. I thought it was a blank and he was trying to make a point about how easy it is to fire, to get the kids' attention. But then I looked at the agent's face and he looked surprised. Then there was a quick grimace on his face of sudden pain.

"I thought, 'This isn't a joke. This is real.' "

Farmer said most people rushed out while an ambulance and police were arriving.

"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."

[dbwz]

1st thing wrong, He did not check himself to make sure it was unloaded.
2nd thing wrong, He took someones word that the gun was empty.
3ed thing wrong, He did not keep the gun pointed in a safe direction.

If you do not pull the slide far enough back it may not eject the round.

I have a feeling that he may have pulled the slide back just far enough for a quick chamber check, which is not enough to eject the cartridge, or for an inexperienced eye to see if there's anything there.

Safety should be a ritual, not a habit.

[B4Ranch]

Since Glocks are your weapon of choice, read carefully what archy posted.

[xm177e2]

At least he didn't ask one of the kids to "look down the barrel" to see if it was loaded.

[dbwz]

You meant a press check...

YES, a press check. Dang, I couldn't think of the term, and even though you didn't address your post to me, thank you anyway!