Eighteen soldiers have been temporarily suspended after video emerged of them firing blank rounds on a crowded Florida beach during a local pirate festival. Troops had been given permission to fire off some shots as part of a festival activity in which they staged a mock sea battle to “capture” fictional pirate Billy Bowlegs. But bizarre footage recorded after the fact shows uniformed troops in small boats firing off additional unauthorized rounds while festivalgoers waded in the shallow waters beside them. “Is this real?” a panicked woman can be heard shouting in one of the clips, while several other terrified beachgoers were reported ducking for cover. “This is unacceptable because there are so many real mass shootings going on in America each year,” a boat captain at the scene told Task & Purpose. “You can’t be joking about it.” “What happened at Crab Island was NOT part of the Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival, NOR was it approved by either the City of Fort Walton Beach or the Billy Bowlegs organization,” city officials wrote in a Facebook post following the incident. An Army spokesman later said: “The Army is aware of the incident that occurred at Crab Island,” T&P reports. “We take this situation seriously and are investigating. The Army will ensure accountability based on the outcome.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the Army for comment.
Read it at Task & Purpose
