The SIG Sauer P320 semi-auto handgun, a weapon owned by hundreds of thousands of civilians and used by more than one thousand police departments around the country, will fire a round without the trigger being pulled, a flaw that has resulted in scores of injuries, a review of data by the Washington Post shows.
Owners report the gun discharged while holstered, either being worn on their hip or carried in a purse. Since 2016, more than 80 people have reported being wounded–typically in the thigh, buttocks or lower extremities–as the gun fired without the trigger being touched in what analysts describe as a significant design flaw; no fatalities from the discharges have been recorded. A variation of the gun is the standard-issue sidearm for the US military; reports of accidental discharges in the military are not available.
The manufacturer doesn’t see a problem with a popular weapon that fires while holstered. “These reports, among others, support three conclusions,” SIG Sauer said in a statement to the Post. “(1) unintentional discharges are not uncommon amongst both law enforcement and civilians, (2) improper or unsafe handling is one of the most common causes of unintentional discharges, and (3) unintentional discharges occur with several types of firearms and are not unique to the P320.”