“GUN ownership is our right under the 2nd Amendment,” said Department of Public Safety Commissioner Clement Bermudes. “But more importantly, it is the responsibility of owning a gun, and it’s similar to law enforcement but law enforcement officers are held to a higher standard. [They must] secure a firearm when it’s not in service. That’s why it’s called a service firearm. If it’s not in service, you must secure it. We provide the locks, the mechanism…it’s incumbent on the individual whether it’s a citizen of the Commonwealth or a law enforcement officer,” Bermudes told reporters on Monday.
Asked about an update regarding the accidental discharge of a firearm on May 21 that injured a seven-year-old child, Bermudes said, “It’s currently under investigation. We are working with the Guam Police Department because the victim is in Guam. We are coordinating all investigations and, also, we will release more [information] once we do some confirmations, and as part of transparency and what the public needs to know about our department.”
As for whether the weapon was a service firearm of a law enforcement officer, Bermudes said, “I’ve heard those rumors. [But] let’s control the rumor until we’ve confirmed things…because there’s another person who has a registered firearm, and the firearm was there too…so we need to confirm those before we actually release the exact nature of what had happened.”
According to DPS, on Sunday, May 21, 2023, at about 9 p.m., police responded to a disturbance incident in Kagman. Upon arriving at the scene, the officers learned that a seven-year-old boy had sustained a gunshot wound to the face. The child was rushed to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation and later evacuated to Guam for emergency surgery.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the child and another minor were playing inside the relative’s home when one of them somehow got hold of a registered firearm and, while handling the firearm, accidentally discharged the weapon resulting in injury. The injured child is in stable condition and is expected to recover.
