After a civilian accidentally fired his AR-15 rifle outside a recruitment center in Lancaster, Ohio, military officials ordered all armed civilians off the property. This happened only a few days after the Army told its recruiters to consider armed civilians as security threats. 

The incident occurred when someone asked Christopher A. Reed, a Lancaster resident, to look at his rifle. Before handing it over, Reed attempted to unload the weapon’s ammunition and accidentally discharged a single shot. No one was injured, and the only damage was a hole in the sidewalk.

Armed civilians are barred from coming back to the center, but the community and police remain supportive. As police officers escorted civilians off the property, they reportedly told the civilians “God bless you.”

Reed is being charged with discharging a firearm within city limits. While he is not a military veteran, Reed remains dedicated to protecting military property. “I’m nobody special,” Reed said. “I’m just a guy doing my job because my own government wouldn’t do it.”

Kenneth Casteel, a 67 year-old Marine Corps veteran who also guarded the Lancaster center, echoed Reed’s sentiments. “Government ain’t going to do it. They won’t give these guys any weapons to carry or keep in a safe. If we don’t do it, who is going to do it? It’s a matter of safety,” Casteel said.

Military recruiters are banned by a Department of Defense directive from bringing firearms to recruitment centers. Since a shooter stormed a Navy-Marine reserve center in Chattanooga, Tenn. and killed five unarmed servicemen, common citizens have taken it upon themselves to protect the troops.