Date: 3/7/02

FBI Apologizes for Shooting Mistake

By STEPHEN MANNING

.c The Associated Press

WOODLAWN, Md. (AP) - The FBI apologized Wednesday for shooting an unarmed man during a search for a bank robber as a lawmaker called for a thorough investigation of the incident.

``Let me express our sincere sorrow for this unfortunate accident,'' said Lynne Hunt, the agent in charge of the FBI's Baltimore office. ``We will do everything necessary to complete a full investigation of the facts.''

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he intends to make sure the FBI fully accounts for the shooting.

He criticized statements by an anonymous FBI official to The Washington Post saying the victim made a ``threatening'' move before he was shot.

``This is the kind of premature spin and rush to judgment that Director (Robert) Mueller should root and stop,'' he said.

Joseph Schultz, 20, was wounded by an agent with a rifle Friday after the car his girlfriend was driving was pulled over in Pasadena, about 12 miles south of Baltimore. His attorney said Schultz may have been shot while reaching for his seat belt after he was ordered from the car.

Schultz remained hospitalized Wednesday in serious condition with a shattered right cheek and jaw.

Hunt declined to specify what led to the shooting, pending completion of the FBI probe.

She said the car Schultz was riding in was similar to the one FBI agents were pursuing in connection with the robbery. Schultz and his girlfriend also bore resemblance to the suspect and his companion.

After the shooting, agents pulled Schultz and his girlfriend from the car and handcuffed them before calling a helicopter to take him to the hospital.

The agent who shot Schultz has been temporarily reassigned at his own request. The alleged bank robber was captured Sunday.

AP-NY-03-06-02 1920EST

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