A firearm was accidently discharged by a member of the Corps of Cadets in one of the corps dorms on Friday, Sept. 1, according to Lieutenant Bobby Richardson of the University Police Department (UPD).
The owner was showing his firearm to his friend, both thinking it was unloaded. However, the gun was loaded and accidently discharged, according to Richardson. No one was hit or injured and property damage from the incidental bullet is unknown. No one was charged with a crime, but an incident report was filed through the UPD.
The  Student Conduct Office and Corps of Cadets’ Office of the Commandant declined to comment on the matter.
The owner of the firearm possessed a Texas License to Carry a Handgun (LTC) and kept the firearm in his dorm room, allowed under the Campus Carry bill that went into effect on Aug. 1, 2016. This bill increased the parameters of where license holders could carry concealed handguns on college campuses.
In the state of Texas, applicants of LTCs must be at least 21 years old, unless serving in the military, submit an application and supplemental forms, complete general firearm training and must meet Federal requirements to purchase a firearm, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety website. Certain felony convictions, criminal charges, substance dependencies and psychological diagnoses may make individuals ineligible to acquire a license.
Safety training is not an explicit requirement listed on the Texas DPS website, but is included in the general training during the process of obtaining a LTC. However, local gun shops host firearm safety courses based on the National Rifle Association’s curriculum.
Although there are no legal certifications that people are required to possess before handling firearms, all firearms should be handled safely and respectfully, according to Barry Burdett, owner of Burdett & Son Outdoor Adventure Shop, a local gun shop and former host of firearm safety courses.
“If a firearm was accidently discharged on campus, as it would be anywhere geographically, something went wrong in the elementary safety training of the individuals handling the firearms,” Burdett said.
The fundamentals of gun safety generally taught in firearm safety courses include keeping the firearm pointed in a safe direction, keeping fingers off of the trigger until ready to shoot and treating every firearm as if it is loaded at all times, Burdett said.
“If you don’t break any of those three rules of firearm safety, it’s difficult to have a catastrophic accident,” Burdett said. “That’s what the goal is; if you’re handling firearms, you obviously don’t want to have any accidents, but if you obey those rules and you do have an accident, it usually will limit the damage occurred or things that could potentially be damaged.”