When an Airman at F.E. Warren Air Force Base died in July, early reports painted a simple, damning picture: his military-issued Sig Sauer M18 just “went off” in its holster, killing him.
The Air Force responded with an immediate base-wide halt on M18 use, and the internet piled on, with critics pointing to the long-running controversy around the P320 platform.
But as Colion Noir recently broke down, new developments from Task & Purpose, Air Force Times, and Stars and Stripes have shifted the narrative.
The Air Force has now arrested another airman—charging him with involuntary manslaughter, obstruction of justice, and making a false official statement.
Those charges suggest investigators no longer think this was a random, unprovoked discharge.
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Instead, evidence points to a negligent trigger pull and a possible cover-up, rather than a mysterious mechanical failure.
That doesn’t completely clear the M18, but it undercuts the original “it just fired on its own” storyline that dominated headlines.
Noir’s takeaway is simple: this is exactly why responsible voices avoid snap judgments based on a single report.
In the court of public opinion, it’s easy to crown a villain and close the case within hours. Reality is messier. New facts can flip the entire story in a week, and online outrage rarely hits the brakes.
— SIG SAUER (@sigsauerinc) July 23, 2025
SEE ALSO: Truth About the SIG P320 Continues…
Whether or not the M18’s design played any role in this tragedy remains to be seen. But if these charges hold up, the real cause may have been human error—and an attempt to pin it on a pistol already under scrutiny.
For the gun community, this is another reminder to dig deeper, wait for evidence, and resist the click-driven rush to judgment. Because in the battle for truth, patience is as much a defense tool as the firearm on your hip.
What do you make of this twist in the M18 controversy? Do you think the new charges change the narrative, or does the pistol still deserve the scrutiny it’s been getting?
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The room temperature IQ of the internet are the same crumb bums that sit on the jury of your peers and who vote. Let that marinate a while.
So this seems rather odd. No details at all. Just come on. First off a holstered gun might put a hole in your foot. Maybe. What I heard originally was the gun was in holster and slapped onto desk. Again, a military person is NOT going to do that while barrel is pointing at himself. Smelled a rat right away.
BS… I’ve seen it happen before, even once at a competition.
SIG is too big!
Noone disputes that Plaxico accidently shot himself with a Glock. No pistol is safe from idiots. I am disturbed with the report of a P320 going off in a man’s holster and found dead with pieces of the holster imbedded in the leg wound. I want to know more. On the other hand, I’ve purchased several P320s traded in by scared police departments. Those pistols are like new in the factory cases. They were about half-price. I am a Glock fan, but I think the SIG is a better pistol. I like the trigger and, so far, they have been more accurate in informal testing. The SIGs look and feel bulkier, though. The exchangeable grip-frames are definitely a plus for smaller soldiers. imo. Stay safe. j
The Chicago PD no longer allows LE’s to carry probably because of this case with the Airman. Hard to sort out fact from fiction.
All this controversy reminds me of news stories in the 80’s when a lot of law enforcement officers were coming coming down with Glock leg.
Seems like Glock is doing fine and I imagine Sig will come out on top.
Not sure where you say the m18 isn’t cleared. It either fired alone or commanded, no in between and it would appear from the arrest it was commanded. The gun didn’t jump up and shoot on its own
Sig has handled all of the discharge issues in a horrible way. Whether there is truly an issue or not, the public image of the situation is not good. I believe that there likely is some issues with some guns, but definitely not all. Some of the issues are likely user induced as well. People forget that other manufacturers have also had issues, that was denied for the longest time. Prime example Remington and their infamous 700 trigger issue. People should hold these manufacturers to the highest standards, and these manufacturers should instill confidence in the consumer. Not write pitiful responses and immediately blame the end user. Sig has gone the way of Colt. Their products are mediocre at best anymore, and only care about their contract work. Their best days was with the 22X series being their bread and butter. But hey, they have 100’s of sku’s for a 320, how innovative they are….
LOL, I called this right away. Anytime an Airman and a pistol are involved in any shooting, it’s an ND, accident, or crime. Sorry AF, guns just aren’t your thing. To be fair, had it been USMC or Army, I would have said it was two idiots messing around and quick-drawing on each other.
BC… I think you nailed it!
With the amount of P320 variants in the wild , the amount of reported AD/ND/UDs is a small percentage of less than 1%.. The latest video inducing failures using a screw and depressing the trigger slightly, only proves trigger still needs to move and you are jamming a foreign object into the trigger guard to get the firearm to fail. There have been several firearms with fire control issues, the difference is that social media has blown up any incident to epic proportions. I am sure some of your remember the Glock NY trigger. Sig has addressed the inertia issue with trigger weight/ mass. The FBI , Sig and I believe a third party have not been able to replicate the current AD, ND, UD issues at this time.
I have had zero issues with my P320s with over 4000 rounds fired total through all of my P320s. Do I carry my 320s , at this time no. Have I experienced anything to prevent me from carrying my 320s, not at this time
My God sir! Are you daft? You still think it’s an M-18 problem? What hapoened to critical thinking in the gun community? When the gun community starts thinking like the Leftists, we are in deep deep trouble.
Folks, it’s real simple. Follow the bouncing ball here. When you point a pistol, ANY pistol into the chest of someone and pull the trigger, YOU are responsible for the result. Not the damn machine. FFS.
Apparently, you are willing to overlook the past history BEFORE this ‘incident’. Now THAT’S daft.
What past history? Where has the m18 been in question? Have I missed it?
There is a recall on the 320. I’m not going to quote it here because it’s very easy to find and explains things in a way that any 25 year Marine and Air Force Veteran can figure out. In a nutshell, the unmodified pistol can go off on its own. A modified gun almost certainly cannot go off on its own.
I think anyone with a brain already knew this…
Further proof that Alex Baldwin type stories should always be treated with caution. Noir sums up the P-320 status pretty well at his concluding comments.
ALEC Baldwin shot someone with a Colt style “Single Action Army revolver”. That means there was a LIVE round in the chamber AND the hammer had to be in full cock AND the trigger was pulled (negligently I might add). SSAs don’t fire until several prerequisites have been met. ALEC Baldwin probably didn’t intend for this to happen BUT he violated several firearm commandments therefore he is absolutely responsible for that person’s death.. JS
No kidding.
Did Baldwin “make a false official statement”?
Did the airman “make a false official statement”?
I say yes to both those questions, that’s my takeaway.
Is your takeaway that you believe that this airman did NOT cause the P320 to discharge?
Alec stated on a December 2021 interview with ABC news that “the trigger wasn’t pulled” and “I didn’t pull the trigger”. Sounds almost like a false statement to me..
Yes, Baldwin is a lying hot head.
What about the Airman?
I would bet $10,000 that there was a team of investigators including firearm experts that inspected the specific P320/M18, experts on internal, external and terminal ballistics. The Airman’s story stated to crumble, the Airman was put under increasingly immense pressure. Early on in the investigation the Airman was surely asked to take a polygraph, if he refused or agreed, the Air Force obtained what they wanted to know. The Airman was surely provided legal counsel (military officer, not quite the same thing as a lawyer) and told that any misrepresentations he made were just adding to the charges that would land him in Leavenworth for many, many years. Then he must have cracked and admitted in detail what really occurred.
Of course, there are still some here who believe that the P320/M18 caused this death. My opinion is pretty clear, still NOT sure where you place the blame.
assing around with a gun is a bad thing!
Oh, aye; definitely Arson! Somebody was arse’in’ aboot…