FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A Flagler County deputy has been released from his law enforcement duties after grazing an 11-year-old boy with a stray bullet last year, according to the sheriff’s office.
The incident happened back in August, when off-duty Master Deputy Bryan Jackson was shooting his daughter’s rifle at a berm in his backyard, the agency reported.
However, the shooting resulted in a stray bullet grazing an 11-year-old boy who was playing a video game inside a nearby home, deputies said.
“Someone is shooting outside, and the bullet went through the house and hit my son’s wrist and then his neck,” the child’s mother reported in a 911 call.
[RELATED: Flagler County woman accused in newborn’s death seeks bond release]
On Thursday, the sheriff’s office announced that Jackson now faces a charge of culpable negligence, and he has been reassigned to administrative dutes.
“This was a very thorough and comprehensive investigation that took time and included a recreation of the incident and a forensic firearm analysis by FBI experts in Quantico, (Virginia),” Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge said. “As with any case, Master Deputy Jackson is entitled to due process, and the facts in this case and any formal charges against him will be decided by the State Attorney’s Office.”
Even after the criminal case ends, though, Strobridge advised that the sheriff’s office will conduct an internal investigation to determine whether he violated any of the agency’s policies.
Jackson has been with the agency since 2013.