Special forces soldier ‘shot comrade seven times thinking he was using blanks’

A special forces soldier has been ordered to pay £5,000 and given a suspended prison sentence after shooting his fellow serviceman seven times.

The unnamed soldier, named by the court as Soldier B, took part in the ‘hostage drill’ exercise in January 2019 when he mistakenly put live ammunition in his gun when he reloaded it in the dark.

Buford Military Court in Wilstshire heard that he ‘experienced’ as a serviceman, but the January exercise was the first time he practised with the elite special forces.

Prosecutor Lt Col Whiting told the court: ‘He failed to properly check the magazine matter before inserting it.’

After putting live ammunition in his weapon, Soldier B fired on Soldier A, who had been ‘guarding’ a room where ‘hostages’ were being held – believing he shot blanks.

But as