An 18-year-old soldier from California died Thursday during training at a rifle range on Fort Jackson, South Carolina, according to a brief statement from the soldier’s unit.
Post officials did not immediately return requests for comment made Friday afternoon.
The soldier’s unit, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, is a Basic Combat Training Battalion. The unit said that the soldier “suffered a fatal injury" at the rifle range, but did not elaborate.
No other trainees or cadre were injured on the range, the unit’s statement added.
The soldier was transported by emergency medical services to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased.
A “military law enforcement investigation” into the incident is underway, the statement said, and next of kin notification has to be completed before the Army can release the deceased soldier’s identity.
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“Our hearts are heavy for our teammate, the unit soldiers and all the family members,” said Fort Jackson Commander Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle, Jr. in a prepared statement. “We are providing comfort and assistance to those involved.”
The death is the third of a soldier at Fort Jackson this year, according to The State, a local daily newspaper.
Pvt. Connor McGurran, 19, died in January after he was found unresponsive following a training exercise.
McGurran was from Minnesota and was training to become a Bradley fighting vehicle maintainer. He had been at basic training since October.
Pvt. Angel Cortes-Torres, 29, who was from Connecticut, died in March after he suffered a “medical emergency while conducting a non-strenuous activity,” according to Fort Jackson.
Cortes-Torres was also in basic training and had only arrived that month.
Fort Jackson is one of the largest training facilities in the military, graduating more than 45,000 basic training and 12,000 additional advanced training soldiers every year.
Kyle Rempfer was an editor and reporter who has covered combat operations, criminal cases, foreign military assistance and training accidents. Before entering journalism, Kyle served in U.S. Air Force Special Tactics and deployed in 2014 to Paktika Province, Afghanistan, and Baghdad, Iraq.
