Marine recruit shot in marksmanship mishap at Parris Island base in Port Royal

Karl Puckett, The Island Packet (Hilton Head Island, S.C.) on Nov 7, 2025

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PORT ROYAL, S.C. — A Marine recruit was shot Wednesday during marksmanship training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, officials said.

It was the second shooting mishap during rifle training in less than three months at the Port Royal base, where recruits undergo 13 weeks of training to become Marines.

The recruit sustained a gunshot wound to the foot while training on the rifle range, the Marines said in a statement. The Marines did not say how the recruit was shot.

Depot emergency personnel responded immediately, and the recruit was transported by an ambulance to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, where he is currently listed in stable condition, according to the statement.

The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet requested additional details on the circumstances surrounding the shooting and the Marine involved but no additional information has been released.

As for the circumstances, the Marines said it would be “inappropriate to speculate on the circumstances until all relevant facts have been reviewed.” An investigation into the incident is underway.

“We are committed to conducting a thorough and transparent review of the event,” the statement said.

Recruits are issued M16A4 service rifles for marksmanship training, the standard infantry weapon of the Marine Corps.

On Aug. 15, 18-year-old Pvt. Aduel Goddard of Williamsburg, Mich., sustained a gunshot wound to the leg while training during live-fire marksmanship training at the Starlite Range as part of the recruit training curriculum.

The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet have requested additional information about the August incident through the Freedom of Information Act. The Marines said Wednesday that incident remains under investigation.

About 16,000 enlisted recruits a year train to be Marines at the 8,000-acre island base in Port Royal, one of two bases in the country where recruits train to become Marines. The other is Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego.

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