Ceres, CA — July 10, 2025

New information released by Ceres Police confirms that the firearm involved in the accidental discharge by a School Resource Officer (SRO) at Blaker-Kinser Junior High was a Sig Sauer P320, a model already under national scrutiny for its potential to fire without the trigger being pulled.

Ceres Police Chief Trenton Johnson stated that while the department issues Glock .40-caliber handguns as standard, officers are permitted to carry personally owned firearms from reputable manufacturers. In this case, Officer Chrim had been carrying a P320—a model known for prior safety concerns.

According to an official department statement, “The firearm and holster were compatible and compliant with current Ceres Police Department policy. The firearm was securely holstered and not being manipulated by Officer Chrim at the time of its discharge.”

The Sig Sauer P320 has been the subject of numerous lawsuits, with at least 15 plaintiffs alleging unintentional discharges under similar circumstances. In some cases, the firearm allegedly discharged while holstered, without any physical contact with the trigger. A growing body of evidence has linked the model to more than 20 injuries and at least one death.

On June 20, 2024, a federal jury in Atlanta ruled that Sig Sauer was liable for the shooting of Robert Lang of Roswell, Georgia, after a P320 discharged without warning. The jury found the firearm was defectively designed and that the company failed to provide sufficient warnings to consumers. Lang was awarded $2.35 million in damages. Despite the ruling, Sig Sauer has continued to insist that the P320 is safe and that incidents are the result of improper handling.

The Blaker-Kinser incident did not result in any fatalities, but it has reignited concerns about the presence of potentially unsafe firearms in school environments—particularly when carried by law enforcement personnel.

“If a handgun can randomly fire without anyone touching the trigger, this model should not be allowed on any school campus,” said one concerned parent. “We really need a federal agency that inspects and certifies the safety of every firearm before it’s allowed to be sold—just like every other consumer product from toasters to lightbulbs.”

Currently, no federal agency performs pre-sale safety testing or certification of firearms. While products like hairdryers and child car seats must meet strict standards, firearms are largely exempt from the types of consumer safety regulations enforced across nearly every other industry.

The incident has prompted renewed calls for comprehensive firearm safety legislation and independent oversight, especially for weapons carried by public safety officers in sensitive locations like schools.

As investigations continue, the incident at Blaker-Kinser stands as another troubling example in the ongoing debate over firearm safety and accountability—raising urgent questions about what’s being done to prevent the next preventable discharge.

Source: GunViolenceDatabase