FBI Finds at Least 14 Blackwater Shootings Unjustified
The FBI has concluded that Blackwater security guards were not justified in shooting at least 14 of 17 Iraqi civilians killed in a Sept. 16 incident, the New York Times reports.
Government officials told the Times that the guards opened fire in the mistaken belief they were being attacked when they heard gunfire by other members of their unit. The investigators concluded the guards may have been justified in shooting at two people in a Kia sedan traveling after traffic had been stopped, as well as a nearby Iraqi.
But the shootings of 14 others, some of whom were fleeing, were unprovoked, investigators told the times. Investigators are focusing on one guard in particular who was responsible for several of the deaths.
“I wouldn’t call it a massacre, but to say it was unwarranted is an understatement,” one investigator told the newspaper.
The Justice Department is reviewing the initial findings.
Blackwater issued a statement in response to the report that it supports “stringent accountability” for any wrongdoing, the Associated Press reports.
