A military report says a Marine sergeant failed to remove live ammunition from his rifle and replace it with blanks ahead of a fatal shooting during a training exercise last fall.
Sgt. Caleb Hohman has been charged with manslaughter and dereliction of duty in the accidental shooting death at Camp Pendleton, in Calif. The October 30 mishap killed 22-year-old Sgt. Seth Algrim of Garden City while he was playing the role of an insurgent. Hohman shot Algrim once in the arm and once in the head, killing him instantly.
Several other Marines could face administrative action for what the report calls “individual and small-unit negligence and a lack of supervision.”
Investigators also say a “declining respect” at Pendleton for ammunition that is not accounted for is a mind-set that probably began in Iraq. Members of the battalion did combat tours in Anbar province, and accountability of ammunition “has dulled.”
Algrim was a highly respected sniper who served with the Marine’s elite First Reconnaissance Battalion in Afghanistan.
