thedrifter
01-23-08, 07:30 AM
Marine's death blamed on accidental shooting
By: North County Times
CAMP PENDLETON -- An accidental shooting has been cited as the cause of death of a 19-year-old Marine lance corporal who was scheduled to leave for Iraq later this year.
Lance Cpl. Cameron M. Babcock was shot once in the chest shortly before midnight Sunday in his barracks at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, according to a release issued at Camp Pendleton on Tuesday.
"Thus far, information does not indicate that the shooting was self-inflicted or intentional, but rather was the result of the negligent handling of a privately owned weapon," the release stated.
The shooting was reported to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which notified military police at the base. Babcock was taken to the base hospital at Twentynine Palms, where he was pronounced dead.
A public affairs officer at Camp Pendleton said no one is in custody and the incident is being probed by agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a civilian law enforcement agency of the Department of the Navy.
Babcock had been in the Marine Corps for 19 months and was an infantryman in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company. The Plymouth, Ind., native had served one tour in Iraq and was scheduled to return later this winter.
Ellie
By: North County Times
CAMP PENDLETON -- An accidental shooting has been cited as the cause of death of a 19-year-old Marine lance corporal who was scheduled to leave for Iraq later this year.
Lance Cpl. Cameron M. Babcock was shot once in the chest shortly before midnight Sunday in his barracks at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, according to a release issued at Camp Pendleton on Tuesday.
"Thus far, information does not indicate that the shooting was self-inflicted or intentional, but rather was the result of the negligent handling of a privately owned weapon," the release stated.
The shooting was reported to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, which notified military police at the base. Babcock was taken to the base hospital at Twentynine Palms, where he was pronounced dead.
A public affairs officer at Camp Pendleton said no one is in custody and the incident is being probed by agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a civilian law enforcement agency of the Department of the Navy.
Babcock had been in the Marine Corps for 19 months and was an infantryman in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment's Kilo Company. The Plymouth, Ind., native had served one tour in Iraq and was scheduled to return later this winter.
Ellie