In a recent incident at Blanchard Elementary School, an official report from the McClain County Sheriff's Office described how a school resource deputy's gun was accidentally discharged while the officer was distributing stickers to children and assisting one with a jacket zipper; the gunfire occurred despite the deputy being seated and engaged in non-threatening activities, as reported by KFOR.
Further insights into the startling event were revealed with the discovery that the deputy's SIG Sauer P320, remained in its Safariland holster when the shot fired, the weapon's slide had locked up with the fired casing trapped within it was found by detectives necessitating manual ejection of the shell, a detail shared by News9. This raised concerns about the security measures inherent in the holster's design, which were apparently insufficient to prevent a discharge in this scenario.
Detectives attempted to replicate the accidental discharge during their investigation, and according to information obtained by Fox 25, they confirmed that the trigger was accessible enough for a child's finger to fire the weapon through an aperture in the holster. The replication of the event with an unloaded firearm indicated a safety vulnerability in the holster design, prompting a reassessment of weapon security protocols by the sheriff's office.
The Sheriff's Office spokesperson Gibbons stated, "The deputy was not doing anything that was inherently unsafe, that was concerning, he was going throughout his normal activities, passing out stickers, loving on the little ones, trying to send him home with a smile, if you will, so nobody's taken this harder, probably than he has," according to a statement provided by Fox 25; Blanchard Public Schools, however, has not provided a statement nor responded to requests for comment on the matter.
