Army soldier’s sniper rifle went off and shot him in head when comrade ‘ran into him’ on coaching train, inquest hears

An Army soldier was shot fatally in the head after his sniper rifle went off when a comrade ‘bumped into him’ on a training exercise, an inquest heard today.

Lance Corporal Joe Spencer, 24, was killed instantly on a sniper exercise in the Scottish Highlands when his rifle suddenly fired through his chin and out of the top of his head in November 2016.

A private who had been with him at the time was said to have been left ‘white and shaking’, before telling a superior officer it was ‘my fault’.  

Pte Christopher Leveridge said he had ‘bumped into’ LCpl Spencer in the waiting area of the gun range and the rifle ‘went off’. 

Range supervisor Colour Sergeant Gordon Smart told an inquest into the young soldier’s death that Pte Leveridge was noticeably ‘shocked’ and that he tried to reassure him.

CSgt Smart also told Winchester Coroner’s Court, Hants, that misfires were ‘quite common’ and that they happened ‘six or seven times’ on the exercise in Tain, Scotland.

LCpl Spencer, from Bishopstoke, Hants, was killed on November 1, 2016, while he was undergoing a two-month-long sniper training.

It was a ‘dark’ and ‘cold’ November evening – with LCpl Spencer waiting in a waiting area, which was a shipping container, with other soldiers before going out on the range.

Giving evidence today, CSgt Smart outlined what happened in the aftermath of the shooting.

Joe Spencer 24, was killed when his gun went off unexpectedly during a sniper training course

He had been holding the rifle vertically, with the butt of the gun on the toe cap of his boot and his chin resting on the top end, it was found

He told the inquest: ‘I heard a commotion and one of the men shouted “man down”.

‘I went straight to the container and saw Joe’s body lying on the floor. There were rifles in the container and there was a weapon underneath him.

‘Due to confusion the (range commanding officer) didn’t know what happened and the rifles were taken out of the container (except for Joe’s rifle). People were still trying to figure out what happened.

‘At that time everyone came out of the (container) and one (person) – Pte Leveridge – came out and said it was my fault.

‘He said he bumped into him and it went off.

‘He was white and shaking. Just shocked. I told him it wasn’t his fault. I told them to get out of the (container) so they were separated.’

CSgt Smart said Pte Leveridge did not say why he thought bumping into LCpl Spencer would set the rifle.

‘He said he bumped into him and he slipped and it hit the ground and it went off,’ he told the inquest.

When asked about misfires, CSgt Smart said: ‘They are quite common. It happened probably six or seven times on the course.

‘It happened when people pull the trigger and the round goes forward but the round doesn’t come out. It happened a couple of times. The percussion cap hits with insufficient force to light the prima.’

Mr Spencer joined the British Army in 2011 and became a member of 3rd Battalion, The Rifles

Mr Spencer was deployed abroad on a number of occasions, including on operations in Afghanistan

CSgt Smart also told the inquest that the day of LCpl’s Spencer’s death was a test day – known as the Annual Combat Marksmanship Test (ACMT).

He explained that there were two likely explanations for the tragedy – either that the rifle simply was not unloaded or that the round in the chamber had misfired.

He said: ‘The most dangerous part is when accidents happen.’

A previous inquiry at Tain Sheriff Court was held into the soldier’s death – with a report published in January 2025.

The cause of the accident, which killed him instantly, was confirmed as the ‘undemanded discharge of a single round from an L115A3 sniper rifle’ – a specialist sniper rifle used by the British Army.

LCpl Spencer joined the army in February 2011 and was promoted to Lance Corporal in 2015.

He had carried out basic training at Catterick, Yorks, in 2011 and finished top of his class and awarded a ceremonial rifle.

He was a member of the 3rd Battalion The Rifles and had previously been seriously injured by a grenade whilst serving in Afghanistan.

He had bought a house with his partner, Cherycce Connelly, in July 2016.

LCpl’s parents, partner and one of his brothers are present at the inquest at Winchester Coroners’ Court.

The two week jury inquest continues.