Dajuan Lester Townes, a 19-year-old African American soldier in the Texas Army National Guard, died on February 7, 2022, after an accidental shooting at Fort Clark Springs in Brackettville, Texas. Townes was sitting in a car during Operation Lone Star when he handed his personal firearm to another soldier in the backseat; the weapon discharged and he was wounded. He was taken to a San Antonio hospital, where he later died.

Townes served as an Army horizontal construction engineer with the 272nd Engineer Company, 386th Engineer Battalion and had enlisted in October 2019. A graduate of Grand Oaks High School in Conroe ISD, he was remembered by his principal as respectful and hardworking and had hoped the military would open opportunities for him. The Texas Military Department and the Texas Rangers investigated the circumstances; officials described the shooting as accidental and no arrests or litigation were reported.

Does anyone have information about safety practices or training on handling personal weapons during deployments that could shed light on how this happened?