Live Ammunition Mixed With Training Bullets in Tenn. The Associated Press
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (AP) - Wackenhut, the government’s security contractor, is investigating how a live bullet got fired during an exercise instead of a training bullet.
The live bullet was discharged from a handgun Tuesday and struck a refrigerator; no one was injured.
However, weapons training has been suspended until the investigation is completed.
Lee Brooks, Wackenhut’s deputy general manager in Oak Ridge, said officials do not believe sabotage was involved.
“We have ruled that out completely,” Brooks said Wednesday.
The incident occurred in a classroom at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Central Training Facility. Guards use the facility for weapons training and anti-terrorist exercises.
About six guards were practicing reload techniques with 9-mm Sig Sauer semiautomatic handguns, Brooks said. The exercise called for the use of inert ammunition that looks like real bullets, although the casings are filled with orange plastic.
The inert bullets also are tipped with orange and are designed not to fire, so that guards can test ejection and reload techniques in case of gun malfunctions.
Brooks said security police officers were grabbing bullets out of a box and loading their handguns. The inert bullets are used repeatedly during training exercises, he said.
Wackenhut has been the government’s security contractor in Oak Ridge since January 2000.