Federal authorities are conducting an internal investigation after a federal law enforcement officer accidentally discharged a weapon at the federal courthouse in downtown Augusta, officials said Friday.
Jennifer Armstrong, a Savannah-based spokeswoman for the U.S. Marshals Service, said Friday that the incident happened at about 8:20 a.m. Wednesday at the courthouse off Telfair Street.
"There was the accidental discharge of a weapon by a member of the court family, and ... the U.S. Marshals and Federal Protective Service are performing an investigation," she said.
No one was injured during the incident.
She did not identify the marshal whose gun discharged, nor would she comment on whether the marshal had been placed on leave or what disciplinary actions the officer might face.
Though no one was injured, several witnesses said they had quite a scare.
Scott Westmoreland, of Duluth, Ga., was in the hallway that morning to answer before Magistrate Judge William Barfield to a traffic ticket issued to him while he was at Fort Gordon visiting his son.
"There were 10 or 12 of us standing for several minutes," he said. "One of the marshals said, 'Don't be leaning up against the wall.' As soon as I leaned forward and turned to the right, a gun went off.
"I turned to the lady behind me and saw a puff of blue smoke," Mr. Westmoreland said.
When the weapon went off, "nobody screamed," said Melody Pugh, of Augusta, who was also there to answer for a traffic ticket at Fort Gordon and who was standing in line with Mr. Westmoreland. "It sounded like somebody, maybe, had dropped a ton of books, and slammed them on the floor really loud."
Mr. Westmoreland, who was wearing a yellow golf shirt at the time, said the bullet went through his shirt under his left armpit.
"Thank goodness I wear 'em baggy," he said.
"Because I pull a lot of practical jokes at my office ... no one believed me. I don't think it really sunk in until they saw the holes."
Reach Jeremy Craig at (706) 823-3409 or jeremy.craig@augustachronicle.com.
