Deputies Injured in South Carolina Training Accident
COLOMBIA, S.C. — Two deputies sustained injuries during a training session in South Carolina when they were accidentally shot with ammunition that had been stored in a plastic bag in a desk drawer, as reported by the sheriff on Wednesday.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis explained that the incident occurred when an officer, while using a method to breach doors and windows, mistakenly fired what they believed was a blank during the training exercise on July 29. Both deputies are currently on the path to recovery.
Rather than using controlled rounds from an appropriate arsenal, the officers unwittingly selected a round they thought was harmless from the desk drawer. Sheriff Lewis confirmed this.
While the officers did follow standard procedures to ensure they had loaded blanks, they didn’t realize they had grabbed live ammunition, which was powerful enough to breach barriers and knock down doors from close range, according to the sheriff.
No criminal charges have been filed at this stage, but internal investigations are underway to understand the situation better, and those involved in acquiring the ammunition may face disciplinary consequences, Lewis noted.
“I have no idea how long those rounds were in that drawer, but it’s hard to believe there would be live ammunition in a desk at the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office,” Lewis stated during a press conference.
The deputies involved were part of the SWAT team and regularly trained in a vacant school building.
They were simulating room checks for potential suspects when one officer mistakenly fired at another, thinking he was engaging a suspect armed with a shotgun intended to be loaded with blanks.
One of the injured officers quickly recognized he was bleeding and managed to apply a tourniquet at the scene, which likely saved the life of his partner, who suffered a severed artery from a critical shot, Lewis reported.
The other officer was hit just below his armpit, above his bulletproof vest, the sheriff added.
Both deputies required emergency surgery and have been off duty for about a week since the incident.
As a result of the shooting, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office has ceased shotgun training while the investigation continues.
