Armed civilian 'guarding' Ohio Army recruitment center accidentally fires weapon

An armed civilian outside an Army recruitment center in Lancaster, Ohio accidentally discharged his weapon on Thursday afternoon.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, 28-year-old Christopher A. Reed accidentally fired one round from his AR-15 assault rifle when a passerby asked if he could see the weapon.

Reed was pointing the weapon downward at the time and the slug was fired into the asphalt of the parking lot outside the Army recruiter based at the River Valley Mall.

No one was injured. At around 12:01 p.m., an employee of the recruiting center flagged down passing police.

The only damage, said the Dispatch, was a hole in the pavement.

Officers confiscated the weapon until Reed has made his appearance in court on Tuesday, July 28.

He was charged with a misdemeanor count of discharging a firearm within city limits.

Reed is one of many civilians who have taken it upon themselves to take up arms and stand guard outside military recruitment centers in case of another attack like that which took place on July 16 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. One week ago, gunman Mohammad Abdulazeez killed five service members in an attack on a recruitment center and a Navy installation.

In a telephone interview with the Dispatch, Reed said he came to the recruiting center because the military won't allow service personnel there to arm themselves.

“I’m nobody special,” said Reed. “I’m just a guy doing my job because my own government wouldn’t do it.”