CNN:

A US airman has been charged with obstruction of justice and involuntary manslaughter in connection with a fatal firearm discharge at an Air Force base in July, which resulted in the death of a 21-year-old service member.

The on-duty incident, which killed Airman Brayden Lovan, occurred in the early morning hours of July 20 at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. Few details have been provided about the firearm discharge, though the Air Force said at the time that it was under investigation and out of abundance of caution security forces were conducting “100% inspections of the M18 handguns to identify immediate safety concerns.”

An Air Force spokesperson said in a statement on Friday that the investigation “has progressed and an individual has now been arrested on suspicion of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice, and involuntary manslaughter.”

“As with all individuals accused of a crime, the person arrested in this case is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” the spokesperson said. “The investigation in this case is ongoing and further details are not available.”

RTWT

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Original story.

Wyoming news:

The U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command has paused the use of a handgun following the death of a Security Forces airman at a base in Wyoming.

The use of the M18 pistol, a variant of another gun that has been the target of lawsuits over unintentional discharge allegations, was paused Monday “until further notice” following the “tragic incident” Sunday at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, the command said in a statement. Security Forces airmen at all command bases “will conduct 100% inspections of the M18 handguns to identify any immediate safety concerns,” it said.

The airman killed was Brayden Lovan, 21, of the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing at the base, where he began his first active-duty assignment in November 2023, base officials said Thursday.

Details of what happened are not being released pending an investigation, said Lt. Raegan Lockhart, public affairs officer for the 90th Missile Wing. How long the investigation might take isn’t known, Lockhart added. …

The gun is made by New Hampshire-based manufacturer Sig Sauer, which is defending itself against multiple lawsuits alleging that its popular related gun, the P320 pistol, can go off without the trigger being pulled. Sig Sauer denies the claims, saying the P320 is safe and the problem is user error. It has prevailed in some cases.

“Our hearts are with the service members and families impacted by the recent reported event at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base,” Sig Sauer said Wednesday in a statement posted on Facebook.

The P320 was adopted by the U.S. military as M17 and M18 pistols, and the M18 is now the official sidearm of all branches of the U.S. military, Sig Sauer says on its website. In 2019, Sig Sauer announced it had delivered its 100,000th M17 and M18s to the U.S. military.

The pause is so far limited to the Global Strike Command, which includes more than 33,700 airmen and civilians. The rest of the Air Force and the other armed services have not announced any orders to avoid using the pistols. …

The P320 was introduced in 2014. Sig Sauer offered a “voluntary upgrade” in 2017 to reduce the weight of the trigger, among other features. Lawyers for people who have sued the gunmaker, many of them law enforcement officers, say the upgrade did not stop unintentional discharges.

Earlier this year, Sig Sauer appealed a ban of the P320, M17 and M18 pistols by the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, arguing that it appears to be based on inaccurate and incomplete information. The commission banned the weapons after a recruit said his P320 discharged while he was drawing it, even though his finger was not on the trigger.

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“More than a hundred uncommanded discharges reported.”