Soldier accidentally shoots fellow soldier in incident kept under wraps
Krav Maga instructor at elite classified IDF unit faces aggravated battery charges after shooting another soldier in the leg during unofficial training at the gym; moderately injured soldier can face charges as well for bringing a loaded gun without trigger lock into an enclosed space.
A soldier serving as a Krav Maga instructor at an elite classified IDF unit accidentally shot and moderately injured a fellow soldier at a base in central Israel last month, Ynet has learned.
The shooter was arrested immediately following the incident on August 15 and has been under arrest since. He will soon face trial on charges of aggravated battery under aggravated circumstances.
An internal investigation into the incident found the two soldiers were training in Krav Maga as part of a game, as they described it, and not as part of an official training session.
Before starting their unsanctioned training session, the soldier who was injured put down his Glock 9 gun on the floor of the base's gym after having disassembled and reassembled it in the presence of other soldiers.
During their play, the defendant picked up the loaded gun from the floor, cocked it without checking whether it was loaded, and pulled the trigger.
The bullet hit the leg of the other soldier, moderately injuring him. The injured soldier was taken to a hospital in central Israel, where he underwent surgery.
The investigation found a series of serious safety failures: The soldier who was shot brought a loaded gun into the gym without a trigger lock, as orders require when entering an enclosed space.
In addition, the shooter did not check whether the gun had a trigger lock on or a magazine in before picking it up. According to the shooting soldier, he didn't know the gun did not have a trigger lock on.
The injured soldier, who might face charges as well, preferred to remain silent in his investigation, citing his friendship with the other soldier who accidentally shot him.
The case was kept secret so far, unlike other past cases of accidental shootings, including several in recent months: a Golani officer killed by accidental fire from a soldier under his command in Hebron; a soldier in the Kfir Brigade who was seriously injured when his friend accidentally shot him in an apartment in Tel Aviv; and a career soldier who was light-to-moderately injured from accidental fire while handling a weapon at a armory in the south.
The Jaffa military court is currently hearing a similar case against a lieutenant who served in the elite Yahalom special combat engineering unit and accidentally shot another officer while the two were in the unit's offices in March of last year.
The officer was charged with aggravated battery under aggravated circumstances. According to the indictment, after disassembling and reassembling a privately-owned Glock gun, which the officer kept on base in violation of army orders, he demonstrated to his friend how to cock the gun, which was loaded with 9mm bullets, and accidentally shot an officer standing nearby. The bullet hit the other officer in the stomach, moderately injuring him and leading to his early release from the IDF on medical grounds.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said in response to the incident, "The IDF gravely views the use of weapons not in accordance with safety instruction and is working to enforce these instructions. In the first incident, an indictment was filed against the soldier for aggravated battery under aggravated circumstances. In the second case, an indictment was filed to the military court against an officer for aggravated battery under aggravated circumstances and inappropriate conduct. The IDF will continue instilling weapon safety instructions to its soldiers and decisively enforcing the ban on playing with weapons."
