FBI officer accidentally shoots bystander after dancefloor backflip
An off-duty FBI agent doing a backflip on a dance floor accidentally discharged his weapon shooting a bystander, police in Denver have revealed.
The gun allegedly fell from its holster as the unnamed man performed the acrobatic move in the early hours of Saturday morning at the Mile High Spirits bar in the Colorado city.
It is unknown whether the officer had been drinking. The male victim was shot in the leg and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
A video of the incident shows the dancing law enforcer surrounded by a group of revelers and, as he executes the flip, the gun drops to the floor.
As he goes to pick it up a flash can be seen as the loaded gun fires before he quickly retrieves the weapon and puts into the waistband of his trousers.
In a statement, the Denver Police Department said the agent “was dancing at a night club when his firearm became dislodged from its waistband holster and fell onto the floor. When the agent retrieved his handgun an unintended discharge occurred.”
Another bar patron was hit by a bullet in a lower leg, sustaining a non-life-threatening injury, said the statement by a department spokeswoman, Marika Putnam.
The agent was taken to police headquarters and later released to an FBI supervisor.
The Denver District Attorney’s office will decide whether to press any charges against the agent who has not been named.
