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Caught On Tape: DEA Agent Shoots Self, Agent Sues
Agent Giving Lecture On Gun Safety
POSTED: 2:49 pm EDT April 14,
2006
UPDATED: 6:31 pm EDT April 14,
2006
A Drug Enforcement Agent is suing the government for violating his privacy after a videotape of him accidentally shooting himself wound up on the Internet.The 2004 shooting happened while the agent, Lee Paige, was giving schoolchildren a lecture on gun safety.IMAGES: Images
In the video, he points the gun in the air and pulls the trigger. The firing pin clicks, but the gun does not go off."I'm the only one in this room who's professional enough, that I know of, to carry a Glock 40," Paige tells the class. A moment later, as he points the gun at the floor, it discharges.NBC 10 reporter Jamison Uhler used to work at a TV station in Florida. That is where he was the first reporter to break the story about the tape being leaked.Paige said the gun discharged while he was trying to remove a magazine from it. No children were hurt in the shooting, and Paige tried to continue his lecture, despite his wound."See how that accident happened?" Paige asks the children. "It could happen to you, and you could be blown away."In the video, Paige's assistant moves to hand him a rifle, and protests are heard from the back of the room. The DEA agent stops the lecture.On the "Today" show, Paige told Matt Lauer that he was humiliated by the release of the video."It's something that I had done hundreds of times throughout my career," Paige said. "I had an honest mistake."Paige said a few days before the lecture, a teen had been killed while he and a friend played with guns."Accidental discharges happen every day," he said. "That was my mistake. I caused harm to myself, not anyone else."Paige had been with the DEA for about 14 years at the time of the accident.
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