National Guardsman who left M4 at New Orleans hotel to undergo 'retraining'
Theres a particular kind of panic a heart-stopping, cold-sweat-inducing fear followed by an endless barrage of expletives that occurs when someone realizes theyve misplaced their rifle. Unfortunately for one Louisiana Guardsman, its a sensation he now knows all too well after leaving their M4 inside the bathroom of a New Orleans hotel on Sunday.
Thankfully, the weapon is no longer missing, a Louisiana National Guard spokeswoman told Task & Purpose on Tuesday.
The rifle was returned to the Louisiana National Guard, said Lt. Col. Noel Collins. The soldier and incident are being handled internally.
The soldier has been temporarily removed from his duties and is undergoing retraining while a review into the incident is pending, Collins said. No further information was immediately available about how the weapon was left in the bathroom, she said.
The M4 was found in the Lafitte Hotel on Bourbon Street. The hotel and bar are located in the French Quarter, a busy and popular destination in New Orleans for tourists and locals.
News of the incident ricocheted around social media after a picture of the M4 propped up against a bathroom wall next to a toilet was posted to the New Orleans subreddit. From there, the story spread across military subreddits.
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