Several ICE agents accidentally shot themselves during routine training exercises last year, according to internal documents first reviewed by Newsweek.

The outlet reported that three federal immigration agents discharged their firearms within a two-day span in March 2025 — each time striking themselves in the leg while holstering their service weapons. The records were obtained by watchdog group American Oversight through a Freedom of Information Act request and shared with Newsweek.

All of the agents survived and were treated and released.

One incident occurred on March 17 in Baltimore during quarterly firearms qualifications, when an Enforcement and Removal Operations officer accidentally fired his weapon, grazing his upper right thigh. The next day, two Homeland Security Investigations agents were injured in separate incidents in California. At a training range in Clayton, one agent shot himself in the right thigh while holstering his firearm. That same day in San Francisco, another agent discharged a weapon during a holstering drill, striking their upper thigh.

In a separate event in Cary, North Carolina, an ICE instructor accidentally discharged a newly issued Taser inside an agency office. No injuries were reported in that case.

According to Newsweek, the incidents took place before ICE’s most recent expansion under President Donald Trump’s administration. The Department of Homeland Security announced in January that the agency had hired more than 12,000 new agents as part of a broader push to ramp up immigration enforcement.

Former ICE officials told the outlet that accidental discharges, while concerning, are not unheard of in federal law enforcement. Scott Mechkowski, a retired deputy field office director, said such incidents are often the result of “operator error,” noting that federal officers undergo firearms qualification four times per year. Darius Reeves, a former field office director, described training and safety protocols as “standard and robust,” though he acknowledged that any incident involving injury is serious.

The report lands as ICE continues to face scrutiny over enforcement tactics, including allegations of excessive force and racial profiling. Critics argue that rapid expansion can strain oversight and increase risk if agencies fail to account for stress, fatigue, and high-tempo operations.

A 2017 research paper cited by Newsweek found that more than half of unintentional firearm discharges occur during routine handling — not during high-threat encounters.

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