Police Shooting: Elderly Librarian Accidentally Shot by Police, Live Ammo Inadvertently Used During Simulation [VIDEO]
Mary Knowlton, a 73-year-old mother, wife and librarian, has been inadvertently killed by a police officer during a role-play shoot/don't shoot drill in Punta Gorda, Fla. on Tuesday.
After moving to Punta Gorda with her husband, Knowlton had signed up for the police's citizen training academy, a program designed as a means for the community to get up close and personal with the men and women behind the badge. Over the course of eight weeks, participants would be able to get a comprehensive view as to how the police respond to different types of scenarios.
Part of the two-hour session on Tuesday dealt with how cops respond to an assailant with a firearm. The class had 35 participants, and the officer-in-charge asked for a volunteer to simulate a scenario intended to demonstrate when and how authorities decide to pull the trigger.
Knowlton volunteered to be the participant. Her partner was a police officer, who would be playing the role of a "bad guy."
Normally, the weapons used during these simulations would be fake weapons, or at the most, real firearms without any rounds in them.
As the officer simulated firing the weapon on the 73-year-old librarian, however, live rounds erupted from the gun, hitting Knowlton with live ammunition.
Knowlton was immediately rushed to the hospital after the incident, but it did not take long before doctors pronounced her dead.
The Punta Gorda police have issued a statement about the deadly incident, with Punta Gorda Police Department Chief Tom Lewis describing the events that transpired on Tuesday.
"During the first scenario, in a horrible accident participant Mary Knowlton was mistakenly struck by a live round. I am asking that if you pray, you pray for Mary's husband and family and the officers and witnesses involved in this incident. Everyone involved is in a state of overwhelming shock and grief," he said.
Though the name of the police officer who mistakenly shot the 73-year-old mother has not been released, a full-scale investigation into the tragic incident has been initiated.
