FBI agent accidentally shoots a man while doing a back flip in a club, gets arrested
A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent who was off-duty accidentally discharged his weapon while he was doing a backflip at a club in Denver. The incident reportedly wounded another patron in the leg and the agent has now been arrested.
The FBI agent, 29-year-old Chase Bishop, turned himself into the Denver Sheriff's Department on Tuesday and was later formally charged with second-degree assault which is a Class 4 felony and is punishable by two to six years in prison and a fine up to $500,000.
According to the Denver Sheriff’s Department inmate database, Bishop has reportedly been booked in the Downtown Detention Center. It is still not clear whether he has an attorney or not.
Bishop was reportedly at the Mile High Spirits Tasting Room in Denver on June 2 when the incident occurred. He was dancing and performing a backflip when the gun from his waistband holster fell onto the floor and injured 24-year-old Thomas Reddington in the process.
Reddington, while talking to Good Morning America, later said that he had watched the footage multiple times and still could not ascertain how did the incident occur. Reddington is reportedly recovering at home from his gunshot wound.
Reddington, during the interview, said: "We sat down at one of those picnic tables, I heard a loud bang and I thought some idiot set off a firecracker. Then I looked down at my leg and see some brown residue. I'm still thinking it's a firework... all of a sudden from the knee down my leg became completely red. And that's when it clicked in my head, 'Oh, I've been shot,'" he added.
"I stand up and start walking in a little circle saying, 'Hey, I think I've been shot. Can someone call 911?'" Reddington added.
Reports state that the bullet hit Reddington just below his left knee and went through his leg. Reddington said that at some point he blacked out and later woke up to find a person using a belt to put a tourniquet on his leg in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
Reddington said that he lost a lot of blood in the incident which "soaked through several blankets, several towels, a few gauze pads."
Reddington has reportedly hired a private lawyer and said that he just wanted to talk to the agent to get an understanding of what happened.
He said: "I don't blame the guy. I don't want to ruin his life. I just want a private phone call from this guy. I just want to heal. I just want to be able to walk."
The district attorney's office has said that additional charges could be filed against Bishop depending on his blood alcohol content (BAC) and other tests. The results of the tests will not be available for another week, according to reports.