Only Law Enforcement Can Be Trusted With Firearms (Updated)

        Video footage emerged this weekend of an unidentified FBI agent discharging his firearms at a bar. He was showing off his dance moves, did a back flip, and his handgun fell out of a middle-of-the-back holster and onto the floor. When the agent grabbed the firearm, he pulled the trigger, shooting another bar patron in the leg. Police released the agent to his supervisor.

"Remember, I'm a professional."

What is interesting to me is that all the news media is labeling this an "accidental shooting"; and authorities investigating the incident reportedly are also stating that it appears to be an accidental shooting. Even the rabidly anti-gun Huffington Post ran the headline "FBI Agent Accidentally Shoots Nightclub Customer When Agent Does A Backflip," with a tag line that said: "The good news: The victim is OK."

        The lesson in this is that laws only apply to little people. If a mere concealed weapons carrier had done something like this, the police would have found something to charge him with, even if it was nothing more than disorderly conduct. Also, the media would have been screaming for the man's head and pontificating on how it proves that greater gun control is needed.

Update: To add insult to injury: "'He was covered in blood': Terrified clubgoers reveal that an off-duty FBI agent who accidentally shot a man in the leg after backflipping on the dance floor didn't stick around to help the injured victim"--Daily Mail. The article reports:

       Bystanders who rushed to help the injured man say the agent didn't follow up with the victim or help render first aid.  

       The cellphone footage of the incident shows the agent holstering his gun, raising his hands in the air and walking away.

But we are supposed to trust the system:

        Former FBI Agent-in-Charge Bob Pence said when he was in charge of the Denver office, bureau policy permitted agents to carry a weapon "anytime." 

       "They were considered on-duty 24 hours a day," Pence said, "They were permitted to carry off-duty, so they wouldn't have to go home to retrieve equipment before heading out." 

         Pence said he wouldn't "read anything" into video that shows the off-duty agent walking away. 

        "We trust the system," he said. "When it became public that an FBI agent was involved, there was going to be an inquiry into what happened.  They'll determine the facts -- whether he was on duty, whether the weapon was properly secured, what actions were involved, and whether he was exercising proper decorum."