Jail inmate hit by bullet from nearby FBI target practice

Jail staff found vehicles on the complex also hit by gunfire from the training exercise

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies check a vehicle at the northern entrance to the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, California. On August 9, an inmate at the facility was struck in the ear by a bullet fired during an FBI firearms training exercise at a gun range on the jail complex (Google Maps)

An inmate at a Los Angeles County jail was grazed by a bullet fired from a nearby FBI gun range, according to law enforcement officials.

The inmate, who has not been identified, was injured on August 9 while sitting on a porch outside of a jail housing barrack at Pitchess Detention Center South Facility in Castaic, about 35 miles northwest of LA, according to a statement from the LA County Sheriff's Department. After the inmate reported their injury to jail staff, workers at the facility found several cars had also been hit by bullets.

The severity of the inmate's injuries were not shared, according to the LA Times.

The complex where the jail is located is also the site of outdoor shooting ranges, including one used primarily by FBI agents. The sheriff determined that the bullet came from the FBI range.

“Investigators learned that the errant bullets originated from the range utilized by the FBI,” according to the department. “Sheriff’s personnel and the FBI debriefed the incident, and the range has been subsequently closed.”

The FBI acknowledged the incident and issued a statement to the LA Times explaining that the bullets were fired during an agent's quarterly firearms training exercise.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies check a vehicle at the northern entrance to the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic, California. On August 9, an inmate at the facility was struck in the ear by a bullet fired during an FBI firearms training exercise at a gun range on the jail complex (Google Maps)

“One individual was unintentionally wounded and treated for a superficial injury,” the statement said. “The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously.”

The FBI's Inspection Division has launched an investigation into the incident.

The Independent has sought comment from the LA Sheriff’s Department and the FBI.

The sheriff closed the range after the incident, but an official told the newspaper that other ranges at the jail complex are still being used.

This isn't the first firing range-related incident in Castaic. In October, the LASD had to shut down its network of mobile range trailers — essentially 50ft trailers that serve as firing ranges — when one of them caught fire during a training exercise.

Firefighters responding to the scene said at the time that the fire was especially difficult to contain because there was live ammunition inside the burning trailer, according to the Associated Press.

Two deputies were injured in the fire. One of the deputies, Alfredo Flores, 51, suffered serious injuries and died six months after the incident, Fox 11 Los Angeles reports.