Guard accidentally shoots himself.
Special deputy working for security firm is listed in serious condition after mishap at North Central.
By Stephen Beaven
The Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 3, 2000) -- A security guard who accidentally shot himself at North Central High School while trying on a new holster was in serious condition Wednesday night in Methodist Hospital.
Aaron Gilbert, 29, shot himself in the left thigh Wednesday morning while trying out the holster as he worked security in the parking lot, a school official said.
Norm Foust, director of transportation and security for Washington Township Schools, added that there were no students around at the time.
Gilbert is employed by Premier Security and also is a Marion County Sheriff's Department special deputy. As a special deputy, he has police powers and is authorized to carry a gun. The security firm has worked on contract for Washington Township Schools for 3 1/2 years.
The security firm and the Sheriff's Department will conduct investigations into the shooting. School officials have not discussed what action they will take, if any, regarding the shooting.
"Right now, we're really concerned about him," Foust said. "He's been a good officer."
Gilbert was by himself in his car about 8:20 a.m. when his 9mm Ruger discharged, said Anthony Burgess, the vice president and general manager of Premier Security.
The round pierced the femoral artery in his leg and broke the femur in half, Burgess said. A nearby Marion County sheriff's deputy rushed to Gilbert's aid to stop the bleeding, "which probably saved his life," Burgess said.
The doctors told the security firm that Gilbert is expected to fully recover.
"In all likelihood, he'll have normal function in his leg," Burgess said. "Not immediately. But after a while."
Gilbert was sworn in as a special deputy July 27.
Before being sworn in, he underwent 96 hours of training, which included some firearms training, said Barb Huser, the coordinator of special deputies with the Sheriff's Department. Gilbert later went through an additional eight hours of firearms training.
Huser and Burgess said Gilbert had no record of firearms mishaps or disciplinary problems.
The Sheriff's Department will determine whether Gilbert can continue as a special deputy after its investigation. But if the shooting was accidental, Huser believes, Gilbert will be able to keep his special deputy powers.
Premier Security will review the shooting after completing its own investigation and looking at the Sheriff's Department probe, Burgess said. But he declined to say what would happen after both reports have been reviewed.
"That's a little premature," he said Wednesday afternoon. "He's still in the hospital. He's still under the scalpel."
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It took some doing, but last fall all area Indianapolis schools were finally convinced that having absolutely no one armed on school grounds was setting up 'killing zones.' My own township has had armed security for quite a while, but it took the repeated school shootings to convince the other townships that someone on the grounds needed to be armed. So with a lot of media flack and protests, the remaining schools trained their officers (who weren't already cops) and issued weapons.
The main protestors acted as if the guns would magically jump from the holsters and begin firing their own triggers. And now some dweeb goes and does this. The timing just makes you wonder if there's not more behind it. Just when there's a little ground gained... boom.I know we will now have to deal with all those who protested back in the fall once again.
Special deputy working for security firm is listed in serious condition after mishap at North Central.
By Stephen Beaven
The Indianapolis Star
INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 3, 2000) -- A security guard who accidentally shot himself at North Central High School while trying on a new holster was in serious condition Wednesday night in Methodist Hospital.
Aaron Gilbert, 29, shot himself in the left thigh Wednesday morning while trying out the holster as he worked security in the parking lot, a school official said.
Norm Foust, director of transportation and security for Washington Township Schools, added that there were no students around at the time.
Gilbert is employed by Premier Security and also is a Marion County Sheriff's Department special deputy. As a special deputy, he has police powers and is authorized to carry a gun. The security firm has worked on contract for Washington Township Schools for 3 1/2 years.
The security firm and the Sheriff's Department will conduct investigations into the shooting. School officials have not discussed what action they will take, if any, regarding the shooting.
"Right now, we're really concerned about him," Foust said. "He's been a good officer."
Gilbert was by himself in his car about 8:20 a.m. when his 9mm Ruger discharged, said Anthony Burgess, the vice president and general manager of Premier Security.
The round pierced the femoral artery in his leg and broke the femur in half, Burgess said. A nearby Marion County sheriff's deputy rushed to Gilbert's aid to stop the bleeding, "which probably saved his life," Burgess said.
The doctors told the security firm that Gilbert is expected to fully recover.
"In all likelihood, he'll have normal function in his leg," Burgess said. "Not immediately. But after a while."
Gilbert was sworn in as a special deputy July 27.
Before being sworn in, he underwent 96 hours of training, which included some firearms training, said Barb Huser, the coordinator of special deputies with the Sheriff's Department. Gilbert later went through an additional eight hours of firearms training.
Huser and Burgess said Gilbert had no record of firearms mishaps or disciplinary problems.
The Sheriff's Department will determine whether Gilbert can continue as a special deputy after its investigation. But if the shooting was accidental, Huser believes, Gilbert will be able to keep his special deputy powers.
Premier Security will review the shooting after completing its own investigation and looking at the Sheriff's Department probe, Burgess said. But he declined to say what would happen after both reports have been reviewed.
"That's a little premature," he said Wednesday afternoon. "He's still in the hospital. He's still under the scalpel."
__________________________________________
It took some doing, but last fall all area Indianapolis schools were finally convinced that having absolutely no one armed on school grounds was setting up 'killing zones.' My own township has had armed security for quite a while, but it took the repeated school shootings to convince the other townships that someone on the grounds needed to be armed. So with a lot of media flack and protests, the remaining schools trained their officers (who weren't already cops) and issued weapons.
The main protestors acted as if the guns would magically jump from the holsters and begin firing their own triggers. And now some dweeb goes and does this. The timing just makes you wonder if there's not more behind it. Just when there's a little ground gained... boom.I know we will now have to deal with all those who protested back in the fall once again.
Here's the gun, here's the bullet, put the bullet in your pocket!