Shot fired accidentally at military recruiting station

Associated Press

LANCASTER

An armed civilian accidentally fired a shot from an AR-15 rifle into the pavement outside a military recruiting center in Ohio on Thursday but no one was hurt, police said.

The incident occurred days after armed citizens started showing up at military recruiting centers around the country to act as guards after last week’s killing of four Marines and a sailor in Chattanooga, Tenn.

A police report said 28-year-old Christopher Reed was holding the rifle outside the recruiting station near the River Valley Mall in Lancaster, about 40 miles southeast of Columbus, when someone asked to look at the weapon. While Reed was clearing the ammunition from the rifle, he accidentally fired a shot into the pavement.

Reed was given a summons to appear in court on a misdemeanor charge of discharging a firearm within the city limits.

Citizens in many states, some of them private militia members, said they’re supporting the recruiters, who by military directive are not armed.

Officials say there is no indication such centers are in further danger, but some governors have temporarily moved National Guard recruiting centers to armories and several – including Ohio’s John Kasich – have authorized Guard personnel to carry weapons at state facilities.