Soldier killed in Scottish Highlands when rifle detonated ‘without warning’ on exercise, inquiry finds

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A soldier died when his rifle went off "without warning" during a training exercise in the Scottish Highlands, an inquiry into his death has revealed.Lance Corporal Joe Spencer, 24, died on November 1, 2016, when his gun detonated unexpectedly during a sniper training course in Tain.Originally from Hampshire, and the youngest of three brothers, L/Cpl Spencer joined the British Army in 2011, and became a member of 3rd Battalion The Rifles.He was deployed abroad on several occasions, including on operations in Afghanistan where he was seriously wounded in a grenade attack.He was killed as he took part in a new sniper operators’ course, which began on October 3 2016 and was being delivered in three phases at ranges at Barry Buddon near Dundee, Tain in the Highlands and Otterburn, Northumberland.He was standing waiting for his turn to take part in an exercise, with the butt of his rifle resting on his foot and his chin resting on the barrel, when it went off.In his determination following a fatal accident inquiry, Sheriff Gary Aitken said: “[/LCpl Spencer] was holding his rifle vertically.

The butt of the rifle was resting on the toe cap of his boot. “He was occasionally resting his chin on the suppressor fitted to the end of the rifle muzzle.

He was moving the rifle up and down on his boot, very gently.“From that position it was impossible for him to manually operate the trigger of the rifle.Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today.You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland.No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team.All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile,