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Management at a military recruitment center in Ohio ordered armed civilians voluntarily guarding the building to leave the premises after one of them accidentally discharged his rifle Thursday.
Just after 12:30 p.m., police responded to the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Lancaster and contacted the man, 28-year-old Christopher Reed. He told authorities he was "clearing" his AR-15 rifle for another person who had asked to view it when he accidentally fired it into the ground, according to a Lancaster Police Department report. Officials took possession of Reed's gun until he appears in court next week.
There were no injuries, and the only damage was a hole to the pavement in front of the building, police said.
U.S. Properties Group Portfolio Four LLC, the owner of the shopping plaza that houses the recruitment center, decided "for the safety of tenants, customers and construction personnel working in the immediate vicinity of the military recruiting center [that] it would be best to request the removal of the armed individuals," according to a statement.
Reed, a resident of Lancaster, is charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits, a misdemeanor. The maximum punishment for a fourth-degree misdemeanor is 30 days in jail. Court records indicate he has at least 23 prior offenses on his record, including the discharge of a firearm in July 2013, for which he paid a $50 fine.
Currently, only military police and other investigators are allowed to carry weapons on most U.S. military facilities. But in the wake of the July 16 deadly shootings at a recruiting station and Naval Reserve support center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, armed civilians have volunteered to guard recruitment centers across the country in an effort to protect service members inside the buildings. Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez, 24, a Kuwaiti-born U.S. citizen, killed four Marines and a Navy petty officer at the Reserve center.
The Ohio residents had been guarding the property since Monday. The other armed individuals left the scene before police arrived to question Reed, officials said.
For some, the presence of gun-toting citizens has raised safety concerns. The Army has warned soldiers and recruiters to view the armed citizens as security threats.
"While we greatly appreciate the support of the American public during this tragedy, we ask that citizens do not stand guard at our recruiting offices," Captain Jim Stenger, a Marine Corps recruiting public affairs officer, told The Associated Press.
Reed is scheduled to appear in Fairfield County Municipal Court on July 28.