The family of a soldier who died when his rifle went off during a training exercise in the Scottish Highlands have told a pre-inquest hearing that a “potential systemic failure” may have contributed to his death.
Lance Corporal Joe Spencer, 24, from Hampshire, was killed on November 1 2016 when his gun went off unexpectedly during a sniper training course in Tain.
The youngest of three brothers and originally from Hampshire, L/Cpl Spencer joined the British Army in 2011, and became a member of 3rd Battalion The Rifles.
He was deployed abroad on a number of occasions, including on operations in Afghanistan where he was seriously wounded in a grenade attack.
At a pre-inquest review into his death held at Winchester, Hampshire, Tom Banks, representing the soldier’s family, said the inquest would need to examine how a round remained in L/Cpl Spencer’s rifle and whether training and protocols had been followed during and after the exercise on the firing range.
Addressing Hampshire coroner Jason Pegg, he said: “It’s effectively been assumed a demand was placed on the trigger somehow or another, it’s likely you are going to make a ruling on how that demand was made.”
Mr Banks added: “There has been potential systemic failure, whether that is solely one person or several will be central in the inquiry.
“For whatever reason he was left with a round is key to this part of the investigation.”
The coroner ruled that a jury would hear the case which he adjourned to September 8 with the date of the full hearing to be fixed.
Lance Corporal Joe Spencer was deployed abroad on a number of occasions, including on operations in Afghanistan (Family handout/PA)
Addressing L/Cpl Spencer’s family, Mr Pegg said: “This case is going to be heard with a jury, that’s not going to happen for a number of months.
“You have my sincere condolences for the loss of Joe, I have read a lot about him and the young man he was.
“I hope the inquest will assist you as the parents of Joe and family of Joe in understanding how he came about his death.”
L/Cpl Spencer died while taking part in a new sniper operator course, which began on October 3 2016 and was being delivered in three phases at ranges at Barry Buddon near Dundee, Tain in the Highlands and Otterburn in Northumberland.
He was standing waiting for his turn to take part in an exercise, with the butt of his rifle resting on his foot and his chin resting on the barrel, when it went off.
In his determination following a fatal accident inquiry released in December 2024, sheriff Gary Aitken ruled the incident was partly due to L/Cpl Spencer’s “utterly inexplicable failure” to properly unload his rifle following a live fire exercise earlier in the day.
He said: “(L/Cpl Spencer) was holding his rifle vertically. The butt of the rifle was resting on the toe cap of his boot.
“He was occasionally resting his chin on the suppressor fitted to the end of the rifle muzzle. He was moving the rifle up and down on his boot, very gently.
“From that position it was impossible for him to manually operate the trigger of the rifle.
“Without warning the rifle discharged, inflicting an immediately fatal head wound to L/Cpl Spencer.”
The sheriff added that his death could have been avoided if he had not been “holding his rifle vertically in close proximity to his body during the undemanded discharge”.
Sheriff Aitken also pointed to failures in the way the training course had been delivered, saying that if the “correct words of command to carry out the unload drill” had been given, the incident could have been avoided.