The US military is investigating its new service pistol after the fatal shooting of an Air Force guard — following claims that the gun can fire without the trigger being pulled.
The Sig Sauer M18, the military version of the popular Sig P320 handgun, has been at the forefront of multiple lawsuits alleging that the weapon can fire unprompted.
It’s now been pulled from standard use at several facilities after a security service member was killed on Sunday at the FE Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, when the gun discharged, officials said.
Air Force Global Strike Command issued the “stand down” order to all of its units until officials at their bases can investigate all of their M18s for any “safety concerns.”
“We want to make sure there’s nothing wrong with the weapon,” an Air Force official told the Washington Post.
The exact circumstances of the weapon firing were not released.
The Army, Navy and Marine Corps have said they were reviewing the incident as well.
Following the deadly incident, SIG Sauer, the manufacturer of the pistol, expressed its condolences to the service members and families impacted by the shooting.
“We have absolute confidence in the military’s ability to conduct a thorough investigation and are working with the Air Force and Army to answer any of their questions,” the company said in a statement.
The M18 became the standard use pistol in the Air Force in 2019, replacing the M9 (Beretta 92) that the military had been using for more than 30 years.
The shooting comes just weeks after an FBI report echoed years-long concerns about the Sig P320-series pistols.
The FBI’s Ballistic Research Facility opened a probe into the firearm series at the behest of Michigan State Police when a trooper pistol discharged “uncommanded” last year.
“According to the MSP motor officer’s statement and the statements of others present, at no time was the trigger pressed intentionally or inadvertently,” the report stated.
Days after the FBI report became public, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials issued a ban on the use of the Sig P320 pistols for its agents.
The Sig pistols were also at the center of a 2023 investigation by the WaPo and The Trace, a group that monitors gun violence, finding that more than 100 people have reported their handgun’s suddenly firing without anyone ever pulling the trigger.
Sig Sauer has faced a mountain of lawsuits over such cases in the US, with at least 77 filed in New Hampshire alone.
The company has long refuted the allegations, asserting that its brand is being attacked by anti-gun groups and “the mainstream media.”
“The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull — that is a fact,” the company said in a statement back in March.
“Claims that unintended discharges are anything more than negligent handling and/or manufactured lies to support anti-gun, anti-SIG agenda are false,” the manufacturer added, claiming that several lawsuits have been dismissed around the nation.
It also say that investigators have never been able to replicate “uncommanded fire” incidents with the weapons.
With the M18 temporarily pulled from the Air Force Global Strike Command bases, officials have ordered its units to use the M4 rifle in the meantime.
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