Secret Service Agent Shoots Himself In Butt

The anti-gunners used to argue that only law enforcement had the necessary training and experience to be trusted with firearms. Consequently, I tend to point out examples of their failures as a counter-argument to the gun grabbers' rhetoric. The latest is from this piece from The Truth About Guns: "Secret Service Agent NDs Himself Using His Gun as a Flashlight." The gist of the story is that a member of Jill Biden's Secret Service detail was in an airport when he realized he had left his cell phone in a vehicle. When he arrived at the vehicle, he had drawn his weapon in order to use the flashlight to search for his cell phone. When he holstered the weapon, it discharged resulting in a wound to the agent's posterior. 

    There are a few points to be drawn from this incident:

• First and foremost is that whenever you start handling a loaded firearm, you greatly increase the odds of an accidental or negligent discharge. Ergo, the best way to reduce your risk to avoid unnecessary handling of loaded firearms.
• Next, and related to the first, is that a handgun (or other other weapon) with a weapon mounted light is not a flashlight to be used for things like hunting for your cell phone beneath a car seat. That is why if you have to choose between a weapon mounted light or separate flashlight, you are better with carrying the flashlight. You will use the flashlight in your pocket far more than the WML. 
• The immediate cause of the discharge, however, was not from using the WML as a flashlight, but from the reholstering of the weapon. Unfortunately, we do not know exactly what went wrong, which is why I am reluctant to call it a negligent discharge over an accidental discharge. But if I were to hazard a guess, it would be that this agent was using a striker fired pistol--it is my understanding that the Secret Service switched to a Glock 9mm pistol in 2019--and the trigger got caught up on something (his finger, a bit of clothing, a corner of the holster, etc.) as the agent was attempting to reholster the weapon.