‘Bored’ squaddie who played with gun accidentally shot friend dead
A SOLDIER who accidentally shot his best friend dead had been seen posing with his handgun “like a rapper”, official documents reveal.
Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington was killed by L/cpl Colin Theaker in Iraq in 2017.
Now a military investigation has suggested the shooting happened because the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment were “bored” and treated their pistols “like new toys”.
The Glock pistols were seen as having a “high social value” and as a “gangster” weapon, the Ministry of Defence report said.
It added: “It was recognised that young soldiers in particular would be attracted to messing around with their general service pistol, based on its novelty and how handguns are portrayed in the media.”
Theaker had been seen emulating rappers, once striking a pose with the gun while using a phrase relating to “an American rapper of the hip-hop genre who was injured in a shooting incident”.
The newly declassified report identified a series of failings by the Army leading to the tragic death of the 22-year-old.
It also revealed that a similar incident involving 1st Battalion, The Rifles took place in exactly the same accommodation block just six months earlier, though no one died.
Hetherington was shot dead by “inseparable sidekick” Theaker in January 2017, while the pair, both from Middleton, Gtr Manchester, were playing around in the room they shared.
Witnesses heard Hetherington “urge restraint” before a shot rang out. His final words to his friend were: “You’ve shot me.” Theaker called for help but Hetherington died later of a catastrophic gunshot wound to the upper abdomen.
According to investigators, “it is very likely that Theaker unwittingly made ready [to fire] his pistol in the room while playing with it”.
L/cpl Hetherington had been in Iraq for a month.
His partner, Savannah Brown, had given birth to their daughter Safaya-rose three months before.
Theaker pleaded guilty to manslaughter at a court martial and was sentenced to three years in jail.
An MOD spokesman said: “The death of Lance Corporal Scott Hetherington was a tragedy and our thoughts remain with his family and friends.
“We shall carefully study and consider the recommendations from the service inquiry.”
Soldiers of 2 Lancs had deployed to Camp Taji to protect coalition troops training Iraq and Kurdish forces to counter Islamic State. The threat had been exaggerated and many soldiers, who said they had joined the Army to do “real soldiering”, were “bored”.
One novelty was the issuing to all ranks of Glock 17s. But the gun was “perceived as plastic” and lack of training meant soldiers did not “respect it”, investigators said.
The weapon was treated as an “attractive novelty” by Theaker and others, who re-enacted scenes from films and TV dramas.
The report added: “The weapon was perceived as having a high social value, a gangster or street weapon in language that mimics criminal subculture dialogue.”
Theaker, who enlisted in 2013, had already been warned after he was seen taking part in a “quick draw competition” with an unloaded pistol.
Despite his promotion to Lance Corporal, the 30-year-old was considered “good in the field but poor in barracks and at times lazy”.
‘Soldiers drawn to messing around’ ‘Weapon had high social value’