A U.S. Secret Service agent was hospitalized on Saturday after accidentally shooting himself in Washington, D.C. The incident comes as the Secret Service has faced mounting criticisms over the past couple of months following two assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump.
The Secret Service told Fox News that a Secret Service agent accidentally fired his weapon while on duty on Saturday near 32nd and Fessenden streets in Washington, D.C. Describing the incident as a “negligent discharge,” the Secret Service confirmed that the agent had been handling his gun prior to accidentally firing his weapon.
According to Fox News, while the Secret Service agent was hospitalized due to the “negligent discharge” of his firearm, the agent only sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Lt. Paul Mayhair, a Secret Service Uniformed Division public information officer, told Fox News that no other individuals were injured in Saturday’s accident. WUSA9 reported that the Secret Service Office of Professional Responsibility announced it was planning to investigate the incident.
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In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Susan Crabtree, a correspondent with Real Clear Politics, said Saturday’s accident involving the Secret Service agent took place just prior to 8 p.m. in the “upper NW neighborhood in D.C.” Crabtree cited a source in the Secret Service community, who told the Real Clear Politics correspondent, “[This] happens way too often.”
“The Secret Service, in recent years, has lowered the frequency of its gun training after COVID for an unknown reason, possibly because of a manpower shortage,” Crabtree added. “The agency previously required all gun carriers within the National Capital Region to qualify monthly. But the training is less frequent now.”
Crabtree explained that the Secret Service still requires special agents assigned to the presidential protective division, the vice presidential protective division, and the technical security division to “qualify monthly.” However, she noted that one source said other Secret Service agents and Uniformed Division officers who function as White House police do not have to qualify monthly.