A person is in custody related to the death of an airman on a military base in Wyoming last month that spawned an investigation by the U.S. Air Force into the safety of a widely-used pistol made by Sig Sauer.
An Air Force spokesperson said Friday that an unidentified person has been arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and making a false statement. The military declined to release the person’s name and provided no other details.
Airman Brayden Lovan, a 21-year old from Greenville, Kentucky, was killed July 20 in an incident involving a Sig Sauer-made M18 pistol while stationed at Warren Air Force base. Immediately following his death, a major command unit of the Air Force suspended use of the M18, pending an investigation into the weapon.
(Click here to read NHPR’s previous coverage of this story.)
The M18, as well as the M17, are widely used by all branches of the military. The guns share a similar design to Sig Sauer’s P320, a popular gun on the civilian market that has been at the center of more than 100 lawsuits alleging it has a flaw that can lead it to fire unexpectedly.
Sig Sauer, which is based in Newington, has defended the safety of the gun, saying that it cannot fire without its trigger being pulled.
While the M18 has been suspended by the Air Force’s Global Strike Command — which includes more than 33,000 personnel — the weapon remains in use by other branches of the U.S. military.
NHPR has previously reported on unintentional discharges involving the military’s version of the gun, including documented reports of serious injuries suffered by soldiers at U.S. bases around the globe.
Editor’s note: This is a breaking story and may be updated as more information becomes available.
