PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A St. Lucie County sheriff's deputy accused of mishandling his weapon in an incident that injured his young daughter is free on bond.
Deputy Daniel Weber's release from jail comes after investigators said his AR-15 discharged striking his daughter in the hip.
Weber, 35, is a relatively new hire for the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office. He began in August. Prior to becoming a deputy, Weber worked as a correctional officer with the state of Florida.
On Thursday, St. Lucie County Sheriff's office confirmed there's an internal investigation regarding Weber handling a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.
According to police documents, Weber told Port St. Lucie detectives he was showing his son how to clean his AR-15 the day before Thanksgiving. Investigators said Weber's gun discharged after falling off of a TV tray in his home, striking his daughter in the hip.
In the arrest affidavit it states Weber's son told detectives "his father typically has a few beers and few mixed drinks before work, and then maybe a couple more on his day off."
In his employee file with the sheriff's office, Weber admitted to being arrested by the Port St. Lucie Police Department for DUI in 2013.
Each year it's estimated there's roughly 2,000 accidental shootings in the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive organization.
Cassandra Atkin-Plunk is an associate professor of criminology at Florida Atlantic University. She said of the total number of gun deaths, the number of accidental shootings is relatively low only about 1%.
"There are a number of reasons why accidental shootings might take place. Somebody is playing with a gun and doesn't realize it's loaded and accidentally shoots someone; somebody could be hunting and accidentally shoot someone," she said.
The police department said Weber's daughter continues to recover from her injuries.
Weber is on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
