Inmate grazed by ricochet bullet from FBI target practice near L.A. jail

A Los Angeles County jail inmate in Castaic this month was grazed by a bullet from a nearby shooting range used by the FBI, law enforcement officials said Friday.

The incident happened Aug. 9, when the inmate — who has not been identified — was on a porch outside the inmate housing barracks at Pitchess Detention Center South Facility, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. The inmate reported the incident to jail staff, who discovered that several vehicles had also been struck by bullets.

It’s not clear how seriously the inmate was hurt, but officials said an “injury report was completed.”

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The county’s northern-most jail complex has long housed outdoor shooting ranges, including one typically used by the FBI, which Sheriff’s Department investigators identified as the source of the errant bullet.

In a statement emailed to The Times, the FBI said the shooting happened while an agent was doing quarterly firearms training.

“One individual was unintentionally wounded and treated for a superficial injury,” the statement said. “The FBI takes all shooting incidents involving our agents or task force members seriously.”

The FBI’s Inspection Division is now investigating.

While the federal agency has its own range in Orange County, the Sheriff’s Department also allows agents to use the one in Castaic.

After the incident, the department closed the range, although an official said other ranges at the jail facility are still in use.

Last year, the Sheriff’s Department also shut down its network of mobile range trailers after one caught fire outside the Castaic complex, injuring one deputy and killing another.