Two law enforcement officials suffered gunshot wounds Monday after one of their weapons accidentally discharged at the El Paso Federal Courthouse, U.S. Marshals Service in El Paso officials said.

A U.S. Marshals' deputy discharged his weapon, fired one bullet, and injured himself and a Border Patrol agent in the federal courthouse at about 10:45 a.m. Monday, said Gerry Payan, supervisory deputy for the U.S. Marshals Service in El Paso.

Both law enforcement officials, whose names were not released, were taken to a local hospital to be treated for non-life threatening injuries. They were both released a short time after, Payan said. No one else was injured, he said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials and Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were conducting an investigation Monday afternoon to determine how the shooting happened.

"We have been asked by Marshals to conduct a standard shooting review," said Special Agent Andrea Simmons, of the FBI. She said shooting review expert agents will help determine how the gun went off.

The shooting took place in the hallway of the 3rd floor inside the El Paso Federal Courthouse located at 511 E. San Antonio, Payan said.

"It is being treated as a shooting, even though it was an accidental shooting," he said.

Although Payan couldn't comment on the type of gun the U.S. Marshals' deputy fired, he said deputies are typically issued Glocks 40-caliber handguns. The handguns have the safety on the trigger, according to The Arms Site, a Web site about firearms.

Payan said law enforcement officials are supposed to secure their weapons before escorting prisoners into the federal courthouse building. He said the U.S. Marshals' deputy will be held responsible for firing the handgun, just as any other law enforcement official would in a similar situation.

Stephanie Sanchez may be reached at ssanchez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6137.

It would be interesting to see the outcome of this.

Well, yeah, but only to try to figure out how many coats of whitewash will be applied.

And how many of your tax dollars will settle with the other injured party, to make it right.

I blame the gun. They do this kind of crap all the time. I have to leave mine securely in its holster all day just to keep it from going off.

I can save them all a lot of time and money. The idiot Marshal put his finger on the trigger and pulled it.

Wow, and I am not really an "expert".

Finally, how does one go about becoming a Shooting Review Expert Agent? I am familiar with the Agent in Charge (AC) and even the Special Agent in Charge "Professional enough..."

Gentlemen .... we mock what we don't understand. Please consider the facts so that you can speak from a more informed perspective.

There is proof that mere objects sometimes come to life and do things.

While a cousin was living with my mom (he was down on his luck) the telephone called a 'phone sex' 900 number and racked up a few hundred dollars of charges. Nobody in the house said they did it. We ended up throwing away that telephone because of it's obscene, ultra-sick addictions.

Same deal with the house windows that open up while the air conditioning is on. I asked my kids and they don't know anything about it. F'ing windows open themselves so don't buy Andersen Windows.

Who among us has not had a screwdriver get up and walk away? Anyone?

So, considering the facts, how hard is it to believe that a gun can levitate itself out of a holster, float in mid-air, squeeze off a couple shots [managing recoil while doing so], and then float back down to your waist for a re-holster?

Just trying to be open-minded here ...

In our house, the DVDs get out of their cases and have orgies on the living room floor. It's mostly the ones by Disney and Pixar.

Phones, windows, DVDs and his Glock all need to be Exorcised.

The first question I'd have would be, "Why was your gun out of the holster?"
But that's why I am not an investigator.

And here's the video:

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Geez - they left the gun laying on the floor right next to all the perps. Nice move.

Oh jeezums. There must be something wrong with me, cuz I've been laughing at that video since the second I watched it. That cop was all kinds of surprised!!! He pretty much dropped the gun and ran/hobbled away.

Every perp in that group shoud get extra desert for a year. They basically took fire and stood their ground - showed far more discipline under preasure than the shooter.

slightly off topic...

Am I the only one that has a problem with an unshielded keypad that is so closely viewable by perps and video camera?

So, let me get this straight:

Marshall Vest, on the left, drawing his gun to put it in a locker, shoots through his own ass and into the foot of Agent Dark Jacket behind him. Agent Dark Jacket retreats down the hallway, followed by Marshall Vest, leaving the gun on the floor for the long line of upstanding young in-custody fellows.

Remember, folks, only the police should have guns.

Actually I think Marshall Vest was retrieving his gun and in the process of holstering it when he tripped the trigger.

A hallway full of bad guys is a bad place to have to holster your piece. It kind of disrupts the concentration.

Aha. That makes more sense. He kept his finger safely inside the trigger guard throughout the holstering process.

I'm thinking there was the smell of cordite and poo wafting up and down the entire hallway