The off-duty FBI agent who shot a Denver nightclub patron while doing a black flip on the dance floor was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of 2nd-degree assault.
In a video obtained by KMGH, Chase Bishop, 29, is seen dancing inside a circle of club patrons at Mile High Spirits Distillery and Tasting Bar in Denver’s Lower Downtown neighborhood in the early hours of June 2.
After performing a back flip, the FBI agent’s gun fell from his waistband and accidentally discharged when he went to pick it up.
Patrons in the club heard the gunshot but say they thought it was a firecracker until they saw the victim bleeding from a gunshot wound to the leg.
The wounded patron was treated at a hospital for a non life-threatening injury and released, according to a lawyer.
Bystanders say Bishop fled the nightclub and did not render aid to the person he shot.
Police located Bishop after the video went viral, but he was released to the local FBI office without any charges.
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann said her office would not take action pending the results of blood and alcohol tests. But she changed her mind after all the public uproar over the video.
“We are filing this charge now rather than waiting until the BAC report is received, which we understand could take another week, because sufficient evidence has been presented to file it,” McCann said. “If an additional charge needs to be filed after further evidence is received, we can file those charges then.”
