I'm Not Making This Up: French Soldier Accidentally Shoots 15 Civilians

• "Shooting demo uses real bullets, injures 16"
  CNN (June 29, 2008)
  • " PARIS, France (AP) -- A military shooting demonstration in southeast France on Sunday left 16 people wounded, including children, when real bullets were used instead of blank ones, officials said.
  • "Four of the wounded were in serious condition, including a 3-year-old child, Bernard Lemaire, chief of the regional administration in Aude, said on France-3 television. Fifteen of the injured were civilians....
• "French shooting show injures 16"
  BBC (June 29, 2008)
  • "...A Defence Ministry official said the incident occurred during a demonstration of hostage-freeing techniques at a barracks in Aude.
  • "The soldier who fired the shots has been detained. It is not clear why the wrong ammunition was used...."
• "16 wounded including children during French military shooting demonstration"
  International Herald Tribune (June 29, 2008)
  • "...No information was immediately available about what kind of weapon was used.
  • "The soldier who fired the shots has been detained, Lemaire said. He said the injuries were likely an accident but that it could have been a 'criminal act.'..."

No word yet, as to whether the French military will re-evaluate it's hostage-freeing techniques.