A man standing guard at a military recruiting center in Lancaster, Ohio, accidentally discharged his firearm Thursday, just days after the Army ordered its recruiters to treat armed civilians as a security threat.

Christopher A. Reed, a 28-year-old with no military experience, was standing outside the Armed Services Career Center holding an AR-15 rifle when he was approached by a person who asked to see his gun. Reed, who, according to the Columbus Dispatch, is a firearms “enthusiast,” tried to clear the ammunition from his weapon before showing it off, but in the process managed to fire a round into the pavement.

Reed was charged with a misdemeanor for discharging a firearm in city limits and, along with a small group of armed civilians, ordered to leave the premises. This wasn’t his first offense of this kind: In 2013, Reed paid a $50 fine for doing the same thing. His gun was confiscated by police after Thursday’s incident, pending his appearance in court.

“It is what it is,” he told the Dispatch. “Nobody got hurt.”

The Trace sought comment from the United States Army Recruiting Command (USARC). When an information officer was notified of the incident, she said, “Oh my God.”

“We are aware of the accidental discharge that occurred today outside the Army recruiting center in Lancanster, Ohio,” the USARC said in a statement it later emailed to The Trace. “We greatly appreciate the incredible outpouring of patriotism and support for our recruiting centers across the country; however, we are concerned that having armed civilians outside our recruiting centers could cause young Americans interested in joining the Army to decide not to visit our centers.”

A volunteer-led movement to protect military installations has emerged in the wake of last week’s mass shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee. One of the installations that the shooter targeted was a recruiting center where service members are banned from carrying guns. The volunteers, who openly carry their firearms, feel as though they have stepped in to fill the void.

[Photo: NBC4i]

Mike Spies
Mike has produced numerous high-impact investigative projects focusing on the gun lobby, including a series that revealed widespread self-dealing at the National Rifle Association and an in-depth exploration of the gun industry’s role in the suicide crisis. A finalist for The Al Neuharth Innovation in Investigative Journalism Award, the series led to New York Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit seeking to dissolve the NRA and her office’s ongoing attempts to hold its leadership accountable. Spies has also earned a New York Press Club Award for continuing coverage, and in 2017 was recognized as a finalist for the Livingston Award. His bylines have appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, POLITICO magazine, Rolling Stone, and ProPublica, where he worked as a reporter focusing on democracy issues and the federal government.