A police officer mistakenly shot at troops taking part in a large-scale Bundeswehr training exercise in the southern German city of Erding, injuring a soldier.
  • CocaineShrimp@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    11 months ago

    An unfortunate series of events

    Soldier was firing blanks towards the officer, and the officer probably panicked and fired back; thinking they were being shot at.

    For those unaware: blank rounds / blanks is a special type of ammunition you can use in a real firearm that doesn’t have a projectile (ie the bullet). Military and police use blanks to simulate real ammo being fired out of the gun so they get used to the bang, mechanics of the firearm, having to reload, fixing jams, etc.

    Other than the actual bullet, there are only a few noticeable differences between real ammo and blanks:

    • The firearm has to be modified to be able to use the blanks. Usually they put a bright yellow plug at the end of the barrel. It helps the firearm function properly, and will catch a bullet in case live ammunition is used
    • The bang is a bit louder.

    From the officers perspective: they got calls saying there was a shooter. They arrive on scene, and someone starts shooting at them. I’d shit my pants too and shoot back

    • poVoq@slrpnk.netMEnglish
      0·
      11 months ago

      Apparently it was the military police that started firing with blanks, but regardless of if it was a regular soldier or not, what training scenario were they doing that required them shooting on local police and doing that in a residential area? Civil war?

      • vf2000@lemmy.zipEnglish
        0·
        11 months ago

        what training scenario were they doing

        As reported the days before (translated from German):

        According to the Bundeswehr, the deployed forces are to train operations against threats behind a fictional front line, in what is referred to as the “rear area.” This includes scenarios involving drones, sabotage, or so-called “irregular forces,” meaning armed fighters not belonging to a state army. The assumption is that a NATO member state is attacked, and the alliance must respond to defend it.

        Training will also focus on tasks such as working at crime scenes, directing traffic, locating weapon caches, combating illegal arms trade, and protecting critical infrastructure, for example, at the decommissioned Isar 2 nuclear power plant. Soldiers will also practice defending against enemy drones and deploying their own.

        • poVoq@slrpnk.netMEnglish
          0·
          11 months ago

          Ok, and how does that scenario involve having to shoot on clearly marked local police forces?