A law enforcement instructor was shot accidentally Wednesday morning during active-shooter training at the Criminal Justice Center at Florida State College at Jacksonville's North Campus, according to police.
Chip Williams, who retired after 25 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office and now teaches part-time, was transported after a corrections officer in training put a gun loaded with blanks against Williams' back and fired.
While the round was a blank and Williams was wearing protective gear, he was transported to a hospital because gas and gunpowder from the explosion penetrated his skin.
"Thank God he is fine now," JSO Director Tom Hackney said.
The incident happened while 10 JSO officers and four instructors were involved in scenario training at the justice center, which is part of FSCJ but run by JSO. Hackney said Williams fired a blank to initiate the active-shooter exercise outside the "shot house," which is used for SWAT and other building search training exercises. Hackney said Chip Williams, a corrections officer with five months on the job, grabbed Williams' gun loaded with blanks, put it against his back and fired.
Hackney said that was not what the training officers were expected to do and had not happened in six previous sessions. No live rounds are used during training, but blanks still use gunpowder and can cause injury in close proximity.
"Today we missed the mark on safety," Hackney said, adding that the training procedures will be reviewed.
