Lachlan Keogh: Army soldier shot mate in leg in Afghanistan

An army private accidentally shot a fellow soldier in Afghanistan failing his “bread and butter” task to safely handle a gun.

Private Lachlan Maxwell Keogh has pleaded guilty to recklessly discharging a weapon at a Defence Force Magistrates Court hearing in Canberra. Picture: Facebook

An Aussie soldier who mistakenly shot his mate in the leg in Afghanistan has been locked up and told he failed in an infantry soldier’s “bread and butter” task to safely handle a gun.

Private Lachlan Maxwell Keogh, 21, was on Thursday sentenced to 120 days detention in military prison at Holsworthy Barracks, to be suspended after 40 days served.

Keogh on Wednesday pleaded guilty to recklessly discharging a weapon during the final days of his deployment to Afghanistan last year, and admitted to picking up a mate’s loaded Browning pistol and pulled the trigger to check it was working.

Private Lachlan Maxwell Keogh, 21 has pleaded guilty to recklessly discharging a weapon. Picture: Facebook

Fragments of the bullet wounded another soldier in the leg, causing minor injuries.

Defence Force Magistrate Brigadier Michael Cowen QC said soldiers needed to handle weapons safely, even when they were exhausted.

“I accept people make mistakes, but in terms of an unthinking moment, this is at the serious end of the scale of unthinking moments,” he said.

“Fundamentally, when you pick up a weapon, you have to carry out normal safety procedures, and nothing that was done in this case even resembles normal safety procedures.”

Brigadier Cowen said.

Brigadier Cowen said the shooting would have become widely known among Private Keogh’s regiment and would have caused “a great deal of embarrassment”.

Private Keogh’s immediate reaction to shooting his mate was “shock and horror” and there was no suggestion he meant for anyone to be hurt.

“Weapons handling is the bread and butter of an infantry soldier and safety is a crucial aspect of that,” Brigadier Cowen said.

Private Keogh, originally from Armidale, has had a brief but impeccable military career and hopes to train as a sniper before applying for the SAS.

Brigadier Cowen said he had to send Private Keogh to be locked up to send a message to other soldiers that then had to be careful with guns and follow official procedures, and to mark the offence as serious.

He said there was no reason Private Keogh should not go on to a long and successful career in the army.

If he is of good behaviour at Holsworthy, Private Keogh could be released after 30 days served.

Originally published as Lachlan Keogh: Army soldier shot mate in leg in Afghanistan