A recruit at the Vermont Police Academy shot himself in the leg Tuesday during a training exercise in Pittsford, suffering a “non-life threatening abrasion.”
Daniel Ailinger, 23, accidentally discharged his firearm while removing it from his holster, according to a statement from state police.
Ailinger was doing a firearms training scenario when the gun went off. The scenario was low lit, but supervised by certified firearms instructors, the statement said.
Training staff from the Vermont Police Academy immediately evaluated Ailinger, before transporting him to the Rutland Regional Medical Center. He was later released and returned to the Vermont Police Academy.
“I wouldn’t even call it a wound,” said Thomas Hanley, chief of the Middlebury Police Department, where Ailinger is a recruit. “It’s not even a scratch — more of a bruise.”
Hanley said any time there are inexperienced people going through firearms training, there’s potential for accidents to happen, especially when they’re dealing with stress and low lighting.
Vermont Criminal Justice Training Council Executive Director Rick Gauthier declined to comment, saying they were still dealing with the matter.
“We take every precaution to make sure this kind of thing doesn’t happen, but when it does, we learn from it and move on,” Hanley said. “The only thing he lost was a holster.”
