After accidental shooting, Republicans think FBI agent should get gun back

Jamie BallardData Journalist
July 17, 2018, 5:00 PM GMT+0

Democrats were nearly evenly split on whether or not an FBI agent who accidentally discharged his weapon in a nightclub should be allowed to continue carrying his service weapon

Last month, an FBI agent was dancing at a nightclub when he dropped his gun and it fired, injuring a bystander. A judge recently ruled that the agent will be allowed to continue carrying his service weapon, which is a decision that 42% of Americans agree with, according to new data from YouGov.


Republicans were about 20% more likely than Democrats to say that the agent should be allowed to carry his gun again. Democrats were nearly evenly split, with 37% saying the agent should be allowed to carry his weapon again, compared to 39% who said he should not. One-third (33%) of independent voters said he should not be allowed to carry his weapon again, while 41% in this group said he should be allowed.

There are also some interesting patterns associated with age. Forty percent of 18-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds said the agent should not be allowed to continue carrying his weapon. But older people were less likely to share this opinion. The 55+ age group was the least likely to say the agent shouldn’t have a weapon: only 26% chose this response, compared to over half (52%) who said he should.

Learn more about YouGov Omnibus.

Image: Getty