NORFOLK (AP) -- The Navy is reviewing armed watch crewmen and taking other steps following four accidental gunfire incidents on Norfolk-based ships this year. Three incidents involved the accidental firing of machine guns. In another incident, a sailor shot himself in the foot with a handgun during a watch turnover, said Paul Taylor a spokesman for Commander, Naval Surface Force Atlantic. Taylor told The Virginian-Pilot that the incidents occurred on different ships. Rear Adm. David M. Thomas Jr. has ordered a review of weapons qualifications and training documentation for armed watch crewmen. Issuance of firearms has been restricted and supervision of weapons stations has increased, Taylor said. One incident occurred July 20, when a machine gun was fired toward downtown Norfolk from the deck of the amphibious transport dock ship San Antonio, Taylor said. He said the ship was docked at Earl Industries Shipyard in Portsmouth, where it is still undergoing scheduled repairs. Taylor could not specify how far a round from the machine gun would travel. "Far enough for us to determine we needed to contact the Norfolk police, who investigated the area across the river within the range of the weapon," he told the newspaper. Taylor said police did not find an impact site or receive any reports of damage or injury. On Aug. 24, the same type of medium-sized machine gun, an M240B, was fired into the water from the deck of the destroyer James E. Williams, which was docked at MHI Ship Repair and Services in Norfolk. Civilian authorities were notified again. A round fired in error from the same type of weapon from the guided missile destroyer Mahan on June 17 hit a sand dune across the St. Johns River as the ship was under way from Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Fla., Taylor said. And on June 19, a sailor on the coastal patrol ship Tempest shot himself in the foot with a 9 mm handgun during a watch turnover, Taylor said. Taylor said that despite the brief time in which these four discharges occurred, in general, such errors are unusual. In 2005, a machine gun on the Navy destroyer Ross was mistakenly fired while the ship was pulling away from its berthing at Metro Machine Corp. on the Elizabeth River, according to a newspaper account. The round hit a washing machine on a Navy barge. Taylor said he is unaware of any other incidents between then and this summer. ------ Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://www.pilotonline.com (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
