A Texas Nationwide Guard soldier assigned to safe the U.S.-Mexico border was killed by a fellow soldier in an unintended capturing along with his private weapon Monday, Military Occasions has discovered.
The servicemember — whose id Military Occasions is withholding pending notification of his household — is the second Texas soldier assigned to Operation Lone Star to die in an unintended capturing since January, when a soldier accidentally killed himself on New 12 months’s Day.
He’s the sixth soldier linked to the mission to die since October, although four of those deaths were suicides.
In response to paperwork obtained by Military Occasions, the soldier was sitting within the entrance seat of a parked automobile at Fort Clark Springs close to Brackettville, Texas, the place the unit was doing swim coaching, when he handed his handgun to a soldier sitting behind him.
The gun fired because the second soldier was taking it from his arms, sending a spherical by the seat and into the primary soldier’s again, the paperwork acknowledged.
Medics on the coaching web site tried to resuscitate the soldier. Paramedics had been on scene inside 5 minutes of the capturing and known as for helicopter evacuation to a trauma middle in San Antonio, the paperwork added.
But it surely was too late, in line with the paperwork, and the soldier was pronounced lifeless on the scene.
The Texas Army Division announced Monday afternoon {that a} soldier died in “non-mission-related incident at present,” however didn’t element how the soldier’s dying occurred.
“We’re deeply saddened by this loss,” mentioned Maj. Gen. Tracy Norris, the state’s prime basic. “We’re targeted on supporting the Soldier’s household and are offering all out there assets.”
In one other assertion, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s workplace mentioned Texas Rangers are investigating the incident.
“Our hearts are heavy on the information of the tragic dying of a Texas Guardsman stationed on the border as a part of Operation Lone Star,” Abbott mentioned within the launch. “The Texas Rangers will conduct an intensive investigation into this tragedy and the Texas Army Division is taking motion to make sure such lack of life by no means occurs once more.”
At present, troops assigned to Operation Lone Star are in possession of their private firearms resulting from Texas’ sturdy firearms rights. All six of the deaths related to the mission have been attributed to private weapons.
There have been no less than two different incidents the place troops on the mission have negligently discharged their private weapons, in line with the paperwork, although neither capturing resulted in accidents.
A supply conversant in operational planning advised Military Occasions that the headquarters overseeing the mission “is engaged on a coverage about private weapons,” although it’s not clear what restrictions could be put in place and when.
Davis Winkie is a employees reporter protecting the Military. He initially joined Army Occasions as a reporting intern in 2020. Earlier than journalism, Davis labored as a navy historian. He’s additionally a human assets officer within the Military Nationwide Guard.
