Is it possible that it was a accident? Sometimes people are over confident with a pistol,or rifle. I've looked down the barrel of a semi automatic pistol to make sure the barrel was clean. If the clip is in the pistol,the darn thing can go off if you slide the barrel back into position. I've had pistols,and high powered rifles,and if you aren't careful,a accident can happen. There are many accidents that happen in the military that don't make it to the news.

My friend who is usually careful, discharged his pistol in my apartment. A second before he did,he had it pointed at me. Then he turned his arm,and fired at the TV set. He nicked one of the antennas on top of my TV set. It was a accident. He thought for sure that it was unloaded. Well it was loaded,and he learned a big lesson that day. Four years later he became a policeman.

My first rifle backfired on me,and shocked the heck out of me. Fragments of the shell went back into my thumb,and another friend drove me to the hospital.

So what I'm saying is,it could have been a accident. In a firearm accident that is fatal,the person can't tell anyone what happened. BF