An off-duty FBI agent dropped a gun from his waistband after doing a backflip while dancing and then fired it into a crowd, wounding another man, at a bar in Denver early Saturday, authorities say. The unnamed agent was questioned by police but has not been charged. Denver Police said the victim was shot in the leg and was in “good condition” on Sunday at a local hospital. You can watch video of the incident above.
The video shows the agent dancing with a large crowd surrounding him at the bar. After about 8 seconds of dancing, he does a backflip, and when he does, a black handgun falls from his waistband holster and to the ground of the bar. He then reaches down to pick it up and the gun fires toward the people watching him. Someone can be heard saying, “what the f*ck, he had a gun.” The FBI agent then doesn’t go to check whether anyone was hit, instead putting the gun back into his waistband, covering it with his shirt. He then walks off into the crowd, lifting his hands up in the air as if apologizing or saying he didn’t mean to. It’s not clear if the agent knew anyone had been wounded.
Police said they responded about 12:45 a.m. Saturday to the Mile High Spirits Distillery and Tasting Bar for an accidental shooting. “The incident is being investigated by the Denver Police Homicide Unit and charges will be determined by the Denver District Attorney’s Office,” the Denver Police Department said in a statement. The FBI has not commented about the incident because of the ongoing investigation. It is not clear if the FBI agent had been drinking. Investigators are waiting for results from blood tests to determine if alcohol was a factor, a law enforcement source told CBS Denver.
Another video shows the shooting from a different angle:
The FBI agent can be seen dancing to Jagged Edge’s “Where the Party At,” while a crowd of people watches and cheers him on. He then does a backflip and the gun can be seen falling to the ground. The agent stumbles forward and reaches for the gun and as he picks it up, fires a shot into the crowd. A flash and the sound of the gunshot can be seen and heard in the video. It appears not everyone in the crowd realized what happened, but many begin to react as the agent places the gun back in his waistband and covers it with his shirt before walking off.
“It appears an off-duty Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) agent was dancing at a night club when his firearm became dislodged from its waistband holster and fell onto the floor. When the agent retrieved his handgun an unintended discharge occurred, another patron was struck by a bullet in the lower leg,” Denver Police said in a statement.
In its press release, the Denver Police said, “The victim was transported to the hospital with a good prognosis. He appears to have non-life threatening injuries.” The victim’s name has not been released. Police have also not released the name of the FBI agent, because he has not been charged. He was taken to Denver police headquarters for questioning after the incident and was released to an FBI supervisor. Sources told a local news station the FBI agent is not based in Denver and is from out-of-town.
Julie, a witness who recorded one of the videos and asked only to be identified by her first name, told KDVR-TV she smelled gun powder and saw a person bleeding after the incident. She told the news station, “Everyone was kind of shocked after it happened because [the agent] kind of put his gun back away and then he walked away.” She said she asked the DJ to turn off the music. It initially stopped, but then the DJ started playing again.
“No one really knew what was going on,” Julie told the news station. “I was shocked. I honestly just wanted to make sure that my friends … [that] I knew where they were.”
Vain, a patron of Mile High Spirits, told CBS Denver, “You cannot carry if you are in a bar or establishment and have been drinking. So, that’s something, if there was alcohol involved and it was a law enforcement agent, I think that he probably knew better to not be doing that.”
Mile High Spirits, which makes its own bourbon whiskey, tequila and gin, has not commented about the incident. On its website, Mile High Spirits says, “Visit our tasting room for weekday happy hour, watching a great live band or our DJ-fueled weekend dance parties. Whether you want to try samples of our famous infusions, a special cocktail crafted by our expert bartenders or a simple drink after work, we want you to have a good time. Just like you, we bust our asses at work…but we like to party our asses off at night (and some Sunday afternoons!) At MHS, we’re serious about two things: making premium spirits and not being snobs about drinking them. You’re here to have fun!”
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