Royal bodyguard fires gun shots as Queen sleeps
A bodyguard on the Royal Train accidentally fired two gun
shots as the Queen slept nearby.
An inquiry is under way into the security scare which
involved an experienced specialist firearms officer attached
to the elite Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Squad.
The officer is understood to have fired the first round by
mistake in the staff dining room of the train which was
stationary in the Welsh countryside.
According to reports, the second shot was accidentally fired
moments later as he tried to make the weapon safe. One bullet
went into a table and the other was embedded in the floor.
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were asleep in a separate
compartment two carriages away from the officer and apparently
slept through the incident.
The protection officer was immediately relieved of his duties
and returned to London pending the outcome of the inquiry,
although he has not been suspended.
The weapon, an Austrian-made 9mm semi-automatic Glock, has
been sent for tests at a specialist gun laboratory at
Scotland Yard.
The train, which had left London's Paddington Station, had
halted for the night in a siding in a remote part of Gwent
on its way to Cardiff where the Queen and Prince Philip had
a busy day of engagements.
As dawn broke, the officer was on duty in a dining car two
carriages away from the Queen's saloon at the centre of
the train. Prince Philip was in an adjoining saloon car.
The Met will be assisted by officers from the Gwent
Constabulary and the British Transport Police in the
inquiry. The Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The officer
concerned has been taken off firearm duty pending the
outcome of the investigation."
Last updated: 05:01 Friday 16th June 2000.
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