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French Military Blunder Leaves 17 Wounded
FRENCH AMBULANCE WORKERS WERE PUT TO WORK SUNDAY when a French Marine public demonstration went awry.
The Third Marine Parachute Regiment was giving a public show on how they free hostages from terrorists. The demonstration has been given five times previously and is performed with blank cartridges in their rifles.
But one of the magazines was loaded with live ammo and when the marine discharged his weapon which was aimed at the crowd of onlookers, the bullets sprayed the civilians and left 17 laying in a bloody heap. Fortunately, all of them have survived and the most-seriously injured of the people have been stabilized, including a 3-yr.-0ld child.
The soldier that fired the live rounds has an exemplary record and for now there is no suspicion of his actions, but the possibility of foul play has not been ruled out.
"Then we saw blood..": horror over live fire shooting
7 hours ago
CARCASSONNE, France (AFP) — By the time the frantic call of "cease fire" rang out, 17 people lay shot and wounded as a fun family day out to watch a military drill turned into a bloodbath.
"Suddenly, people were falling, we thought it was part of the exercise, and then we saw blood," said one of the hundreds of visitors who watched as a French soldier fired live rounds instead of blanks at visitors attending a hostage-taking demonstration.
Five children were among those injured at the drill near Carcassonne in southwestern France.
Immediately after the shots were fired, said the eyewitness, a middle-aged man who asked not to be named, "an official shouted out over the loudspeakers "Cease fire!".
"We were watching a hostage-taking exercise and it happened when there was only about five minutes to go. There were seven or eight soldiers with guns, with one of them in the middle of the public pretending to be a terrorist," said the man, who attended the event with his family.
"We saw a child of about three years, really messed up, that really struck us. There were loads of children, because it was a party for children above all," he said.
"Everybody ran for the exits. It (the evacuation) was very well organised, the soldiers handled it very well," he said.
A senior army officer insisted that the incident was almost certainly the result of an "unintentional" error.
Fifteen civilians were injured along with two soldiers.
A young woman who was at the event at the army base and who also asked not be named, said she heard screams from the part of the barracks where the demonstration was taking part.
"There were people lying on the ground, among them a a little girl, maybe two or three years old. One of her family was running around looking for help," she said.
Military and civilian investigators have opened probes into the events at the Third Marine Parachute Regiment barracks.
Defence Minister Herve Morin said that the shooter had first fired a magazine of blanks and then loaded a fresh magazine but this time with live bullets.
"Why did he have it in his pocket?" he asked.
He said an experienced soldier would not confuse blanks and real bullets, noting that the two munitions are packed into different-coloured magazines.
The soldier, a sergeant described as experienced with no history of behavioural or psychological problems, was detained following the incident.
French probe military display that leaves 17 injured
16 hours ago
CARCASSONNE, France (AFP) — France mounted an investigation Monday into why live rounds, rather than blanks, were used at a weekend visitors day display at a French military base, injuring 17 people, including a child in critical condition.
Fifteen civilians, including five children, and two soldiers were injured on Sunday when paratroopers demonstrated a hostage freeing exercise to visitors at their barracks outside the southwestern city of Carcassonne, regional officials said.
Four of the 17 were seriously injured, two critically, but doctors said early Monday that the condition of the worst injured had stabilised.
Hospitals in the southern cities and towns of Toulouse, Narbonne, Montpellier and Perpignan, as well as Carcassonne, were treating the injured.
One soldier, described as experienced with no history of behavioral or psychological problems, was detained following the incident.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to visit the injured in the hospitals in Carcassonne and Toulouse, his office said.
Military and civilian investigators immediately opened probes into the events at the Third Marine Parachute Regiment barracks, as Defence Minister Herve Morin dashed to Carcassonne to visit the injured.
"I cannot rule out anything because we don't know what might be going on in a man's head," said Morin on France Info radio on Monday, suggesting that the hyphothesis of foul play was still being considereed.
He said that "an experienced soldier" would not confuse blanks and real bullets, adding that the two munitions are packed into different-coloured magazines.
Earlier, Morin told journalists that safety measures had been respected and that the soldier who fired the live rounds had an exemplary record.
"Security regulations were respected ... use of blanks requires a distance of at least 10 metres (yards) from the public and the public was more than 10 metres away," he said.
"According to initial findings of the inquiry, the incident involved a soldier with a perfect record, who had participated in operations and had seven to eight years of experience. There is nothing that would make one think he had behavioral or psychological problems," he added.
The senior official for the Aude region where Carcassonne is located, Bernard Lemaire, said that investigators believed the deadly ammunition was loaded by mistake.
"The question being asked is 'Did the soldier engage in a criminal act or not?'," Lemaire said. "For now, no one can answer that, but the theory being worked on is one of error."
Sarkozy said he "shares with the families the pain caused by this tragedy. My first thoughts are with the victims. Everything will be put in place to care for them."
Gilles Hulard, a doctor from Carcassonne's rescue service said that condition of the injured appeared to be improving.
"The condition of patients injured the most seriously have stabilised, including that of a three-year-old child very seriously injured, who seems to be improving," said Hulard.
Most critically injured was a man with wounds to his chest, he said.
Hulard said the injured received first aid within three to four minutes of the shooting.
The Third Marine Parachute Regiment based outside of Carcassone numbers 1,200 troops.
This is a good example of when good things go bad- every training exercise we do has the potential to harm us or the public that may be observing (Hopefully not with live rounds...).
Put this story into a fire perspective and it highlights why we need to wear the correct PPE and check our equipment during training....
The Third Marine Parachute Regiment was giving a public show on how they free hostages from terrorists. The demonstration has been given five times previously and is performed with blank cartridges in their rifles.
But one of the magazines was loaded with live ammo and when the marine discharged his weapon which was aimed at the crowd of onlookers, the bullets sprayed the civilians and left 17 laying in a bloody heap. Fortunately, all of them have survived and the most-seriously injured of the people have been stabilized, including a 3-yr.-0ld child.
The soldier that fired the live rounds has an exemplary record and for now there is no suspicion of his actions, but the possibility of foul play has not been ruled out.
"Then we saw blood..": horror over live fire shooting
7 hours ago
CARCASSONNE, France (AFP) — By the time the frantic call of "cease fire" rang out, 17 people lay shot and wounded as a fun family day out to watch a military drill turned into a bloodbath.
"Suddenly, people were falling, we thought it was part of the exercise, and then we saw blood," said one of the hundreds of visitors who watched as a French soldier fired live rounds instead of blanks at visitors attending a hostage-taking demonstration.
Five children were among those injured at the drill near Carcassonne in southwestern France.
Immediately after the shots were fired, said the eyewitness, a middle-aged man who asked not to be named, "an official shouted out over the loudspeakers "Cease fire!".
"We were watching a hostage-taking exercise and it happened when there was only about five minutes to go. There were seven or eight soldiers with guns, with one of them in the middle of the public pretending to be a terrorist," said the man, who attended the event with his family.
"We saw a child of about three years, really messed up, that really struck us. There were loads of children, because it was a party for children above all," he said.
"Everybody ran for the exits. It (the evacuation) was very well organised, the soldiers handled it very well," he said.
A senior army officer insisted that the incident was almost certainly the result of an "unintentional" error.
Fifteen civilians were injured along with two soldiers.
A young woman who was at the event at the army base and who also asked not be named, said she heard screams from the part of the barracks where the demonstration was taking part.
"There were people lying on the ground, among them a a little girl, maybe two or three years old. One of her family was running around looking for help," she said.
Military and civilian investigators have opened probes into the events at the Third Marine Parachute Regiment barracks.
Defence Minister Herve Morin said that the shooter had first fired a magazine of blanks and then loaded a fresh magazine but this time with live bullets.
"Why did he have it in his pocket?" he asked.
He said an experienced soldier would not confuse blanks and real bullets, noting that the two munitions are packed into different-coloured magazines.
The soldier, a sergeant described as experienced with no history of behavioural or psychological problems, was detained following the incident.
French probe military display that leaves 17 injured
16 hours ago
CARCASSONNE, France (AFP) — France mounted an investigation Monday into why live rounds, rather than blanks, were used at a weekend visitors day display at a French military base, injuring 17 people, including a child in critical condition.
Fifteen civilians, including five children, and two soldiers were injured on Sunday when paratroopers demonstrated a hostage freeing exercise to visitors at their barracks outside the southwestern city of Carcassonne, regional officials said.
Four of the 17 were seriously injured, two critically, but doctors said early Monday that the condition of the worst injured had stabilised.
Hospitals in the southern cities and towns of Toulouse, Narbonne, Montpellier and Perpignan, as well as Carcassonne, were treating the injured.
One soldier, described as experienced with no history of behavioral or psychological problems, was detained following the incident.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy was due to visit the injured in the hospitals in Carcassonne and Toulouse, his office said.
Military and civilian investigators immediately opened probes into the events at the Third Marine Parachute Regiment barracks, as Defence Minister Herve Morin dashed to Carcassonne to visit the injured.
"I cannot rule out anything because we don't know what might be going on in a man's head," said Morin on France Info radio on Monday, suggesting that the hyphothesis of foul play was still being considereed.
He said that "an experienced soldier" would not confuse blanks and real bullets, adding that the two munitions are packed into different-coloured magazines.
Earlier, Morin told journalists that safety measures had been respected and that the soldier who fired the live rounds had an exemplary record.
"Security regulations were respected ... use of blanks requires a distance of at least 10 metres (yards) from the public and the public was more than 10 metres away," he said.
"According to initial findings of the inquiry, the incident involved a soldier with a perfect record, who had participated in operations and had seven to eight years of experience. There is nothing that would make one think he had behavioral or psychological problems," he added.
The senior official for the Aude region where Carcassonne is located, Bernard Lemaire, said that investigators believed the deadly ammunition was loaded by mistake.
"The question being asked is 'Did the soldier engage in a criminal act or not?'," Lemaire said. "For now, no one can answer that, but the theory being worked on is one of error."
Sarkozy said he "shares with the families the pain caused by this tragedy. My first thoughts are with the victims. Everything will be put in place to care for them."
Gilles Hulard, a doctor from Carcassonne's rescue service said that condition of the injured appeared to be improving.
"The condition of patients injured the most seriously have stabilised, including that of a three-year-old child very seriously injured, who seems to be improving," said Hulard.
Most critically injured was a man with wounds to his chest, he said.
Hulard said the injured received first aid within three to four minutes of the shooting.
The Third Marine Parachute Regiment based outside of Carcassone numbers 1,200 troops.
This is a good example of when good things go bad- every training exercise we do has the potential to harm us or the public that may be observing (Hopefully not with live rounds...).
Put this story into a fire perspective and it highlights why we need to wear the correct PPE and check our equipment during training....
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