Colorado Springs police suspect a Fort Carson Special Forces soldier died in late September after accidentally shooting himself in the knee.

Sgt. 1st Class Charles B. Lacy Jr. died at 3:42 a.m. Sept. 29 after being taken to Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound, according to Sandy Way, El Paso County deputy coroner. He was 38.

“Anybody else should have survived a shot in the knee, but this hit his artery,” said Barbara Miller, police spokeswoman, citing the coroner’s office. “It was just a tragic accident.”

A linguist assigned to the Group Support Battalion the 10th Special Forces Group at Fort Carson, Lacy received numerous commendations, including the Joint Service Commendation Medal. His deployments include stops in Niger and Haiti.

Lacy’s mother, Arlene Lacy, said she was told by Army officials that her son was cleaning a gun when it fired. Miller said he was sitting in a recliner when the gun went off.

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