Late Friday night, a stray bullet struck a club-goer after an off-duty FBI agent's firearm discharged while he was dancing at a Denver nightclub.
At the Mile High Spirits Distillery and Tasting Bar in Denver, the off-duty FBI agent was showing off his dance moves, culminating in a back flip, dislodging his gun, which fell to the ground. As he reached to pick it up, his finger brushed the trigger, causing the gun to fire and strike a man in the leg. The victim is expected to make a full recovery.
The person who recorded the incident, who has been identified only as "Julie," recalled that the agent simply put his gun away and exited the dance floor, possibly unaware of what had just happened. "Everyone was kind of shocked after it happened because [the agent] kind of put his gun back away and then he walked away," Julie said.
@KDVR And then throws his hands in the air as if to say "my bad!" and walks off... He needs to be fired and jailed… https://t.co/k56kYXkxIe— April Lundberg (@April Lundberg) 1528054342.0
@KDVR @JustErinR Either he's off-duty and the piece isn't w him in the 1st place OR on the clock, thus he shouldn't… https://t.co/EPvj24qr6t— 2021 Division Champs - Mets ❤🖤💚⚾️🗽 (@2021 Division Champs - Mets ❤🖤💚⚾️🗽) 1528057442.0
Julie also told KDVR, a Denver Fox affiliate, that she told the DJ to stop the music after she smelled gun powder and saw someone bleeding. The pause in music was brief. "No one really knew what was going on," Julie said. "I was shocked. I honestly just wanted to make sure that my friends… [that] I knew where they were."
FBI agent allegedly drops gun at Denver night club, shooting one person in the leg. Police say it appears to be an… https://t.co/MapVIL2rw0— FOX31 Denver KDVR (@FOX31 Denver KDVR) 1527967040.0
"It appears an off-duty Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agent was dancing at a night club when his firearm became dislodged from its waistband holster and fell onto the floor,," Denver police said in a statement. "When the agent retrieved his handgun an unintended discharge occurred, another patron was struck by a bullet in the lower leg."
In Denver: "A person was shot in the leg by accident when an off-duty FBI agent’s gun got dislodged and fell to the… https://t.co/4xxFyHR2WS— Brandon Wall (@Brandon Wall) 1527995932.0
The agent was turned over to the custody of an FBI supervisor, and the Denver Police Department is investigating what, if any, charges may be filed against the agent. The Denver District Attorney's office will make any such determination following the investigation.
Btw, this agent was taken to @DenverPolice HQ and then turned over to an @FBI supervisor. @DenverDAsOffice will be… https://t.co/bhdWAlYCXv— Ryan Haarer (@Ryan Haarer) 1528040401.0
9News investigative journalist Chris Vanderveen tweeted that the illegal discharge of a weapon is a class 5 felony punishable with up to three years in prison.
Illegal discharge of a weapon in Colorado is a class 5 felony punishable by up to three years in prison. Cc: @FBI— Chris Vanderveen (@Chris Vanderveen) 1528039963.0
Joe St. George, a Denver political reporter, tweeted: "it has been a wild 24 hours in Denver," after an Uber driver allegedly shot a passenger on Friday.
An Uber driver allegedly shoots a passenger; an FBI agent accidentally fires a gun while dancing in a night club -… https://t.co/seLd3hATUN— Joe St. George (@Joe St. George) 1527993569.0
Twitter users pointed out that it wasn't the gun falling to the ground that caused it to fire - it was the actions of the agent.
@KDVR As clarification, the bystander wasn’t shot when the agent dropped his gun; the shooting occurred when the agent pulled the trigger.— Milo M. (@Milo M.) 1528031755.0
@KDVR No need for ‘allegedly’ in this circumstance. You don’t have to cover your ass legally, that incident actuall… https://t.co/lxqQwej0mp— Lord Champa (@Lord Champa) 1528041844.0