LANCASTER, Ohio - The armed civilians who have been guarding a military recruitment center here are gone, ordered off the property after one of them accidentally discharged his rifle on Thursday. No one was injured. U.S. Properties Group Portfolio Four LLC, the owner of the shopping center near the River Valley Mall that includes the multi-branch military recruitment center, ordered the armed volunteers to leave just hours after the shot was fired. 
 
 LANCASTER, Ohio � The armed civilians who have been guarding a military recruitment center here are gone, ordered off the property after one of them accidentally discharged his rifle on Thursday. 
 
 No one was injured. 
 
 U.S. Properties Group Portfolio Four LLC, the owner of the shopping center near the River Valley Mall that includes the multi-branch military recruitment center, ordered the armed volunteers to leave just hours after the shot was fired. 
 
 A Lancaster police officer delivered the order to several of them outside the Armed Services Career Center, saying, �God bless you,� but they had to leave. 
 
 The armed civilians have been guarding the center since Monday. 
 
 One of them has been charged with a misdemeanor after he accidentally fired his AR-15 rifle. Someone from the recruiting center at 1530 River Valley Blvd. flagged down an officer at 12:01 p.m. to report the incident, Lt. Shane Wilson said. 
 
 The shopping-center owner issued a statement saying it was decided that �for the safety of tenants, customers and construction personnel working in the immediate vicinity of the Military Recruiting Center, it would be best to request the removal of the armed individuals.� 
 
 Christopher A. Reed, 28, of Lancaster, was charged with discharging a firearm in the city limits, and was issued a summons to appear in Fairfield County Municipal Court on Tuesday, according to the police incident report. 
 
 Reed told police that he was holding his rifle outside the recruitment center when someone asked if he could take a look at it. Reed agreed, and while he was trying to clear the ammunition from the weapon, he accidentally fired one shot into the asphalt pavement. 
 
 The only damage was a hole in the pavement. The rifle was taken from Reed pending his appearance in court, the incident report says. 
 
 Conviction on the fourth-degree misdemeanor is punishable by a maximum of 30 days in jail. 
 
 Reed was convicted of the same offense in 2013, and was fined $50, court records show. 
 
 Some armed civilians have been guarding military recruiting stations in Ohio and elsewhere after the fatal shootings of five service members at a military recruitment center in Tennessee. 
 
 �I�m nobody special,� Reed said in a telephone interview on Thursday. �I�m just a guy doing my job because my own government wouldn�t do it.� 
 
 Reed said he is not a military veteran. He described himself as an active gun enthusiast who makes a living working side jobs. 
 
 He downplayed what happened. �It is what it is,� he said. �Nobody got hurt.� 
 
 A Marine recruiter at the center said he was not authorized to speak to reporters. 
 
 Before their eviction, armed civilians discussed why they were there. None was present when the rifle discharged. 
 
 �Government ain�t going to do it,� said Kenneth Casteel, a 67-year-old Marine Corps veteran who served in Vietnam and sat in a folding chair with his M-16 rifle propped against it. �They won�t give these guys any weapons to carry or keep in a safe. If we don�t do it, who is going to do it? It�s a matter of safety.� 
 
 �We are not a redneck group,� the Lancaster resident added. �We are prior military.� 
 
 Passerby Lei Ashbaugh hailed the group. �Thank you, God bless you, Semper Fi,� she said, noting Casteel�s Marines ball cap. 
 
 Ashbaugh, 48, of Lancaster, whose husband is a Marine veteran, said she was heartened to see the volunteers guarding the recruitment center. 
 
 �We have recruiters who can�t defend themselves. Thank God for these people willing to defend them,� she said. 
 
 mlane@dispatch.com 
 
 @MaryBethLane1 ||||| SPANAWAY, Wash. — Since the deadly attack on a military recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee, armed citizens have taken it upon themselves to guard military recruitment centers across the country. 
 
 In Ohio, one of those armed guards accidentally fired his weapon while standing outside of a recruitment center. 
 
 Nobody was hurt in the incident, but it raised concerns about liability if someone did. 
 
 Hours after that shooting, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies delivered some bad news to a small contingent of armed volunteers who’ve been guarding a recruiter office in Spanaway. 
 
 “The landlord has some obvious concerns about what happens if something goes on here, what would the insurance companies stance be what would the cause of damage… so the landlord requested that we leave the property and contacted the sheriff’s department came out an talked to us about it,” one man said. 
 
 Many of those standing guard are former military. They understand the landlord’s concern but say the goal is to keep people safe and start a conversation. 
 
 Please enable Javascript to watch this video ||||| Note: This article has been corrected. 
 
 WASHINGTON — The Army has warned its recruiters to treat the gun-toting civilians gathering at centers across the country in the wake of the Chattanooga, Tenn., shooting as a security threat. 
 
 Soldiers should avoid anyone standing outside the recruiting centers attempting to offer protection and report them to local law enforcement and the command if they feel threatened, according to a U.S. Army Recruiting Command policy letter issued Monday. 
 
 Armed citizens — some associated with activist groups and militias — were standing vigil outside recruiting centers in Wisconsin, Georgia, Tennessee, Idaho and elsewhere this week, saying they want to provide protection to servicemembers barred from carrying firearms on duty. Four Marines and a sailor were killed by Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, a 24-year-old Kuwait-born resident of Tennessee, during an attack Thursday on a strip mall recruiting center and a Navy facility that is being investigated as an act of terrorism. 
 
 Abdulazeez fired into the front of the recruiting station but there were no casualties. The five servicemembers were killed during an attack on the Navy Operational Support Center. A Navy officer and a Marine reportedly fired at the gunman, although it is unclear why they were armed. It is against Defense Department policy for anyone other than military police or law enforcement to carry weapons on federal property. 
 
 “I’m sure the citizens mean well, but we cannot assume this in every case and we do not want to advocate this behavior,” according to the Army Command Operations Center-Security Division letter, which was authenticated by the service. 
 
 Recruiters were ordered not to interact or acknowledge the armed civilians, who have been greeted by a mix of concern, indifference and gratitude by the public. 
 
 “If questioned by these alleged concerned citizens, be polite, professional and terminate the conversation immediately and report the incident to local law enforcement …,” the command advised. 
 
 As the incidents crop up around the country, police could be asked to confront the civilians with guns on the Army’s behalf. 
 
 “Ensure your recruiters clearly articulate to local police the civilian may be armed and in possession of a conceal/carry permit,” it told the centers. 
 
 The command said recruiters should also immediately fill out an Army security report. 
 
 Kelli Bland, a spokeswoman for Army Recruiting Command, said the service has been increasing vigilance following the Chattanooga shooting and that local residents can help in other ways. 
 
 “Local communities can support our security by reporting suspicious activity, particularly around recruiting centers,” Bland wrote in an email to Stars and Stripes. 
 
 Concerned citizens began gathering at the centers shortly after the shooting in Tennessee, and governors in some states ordered recruiters to armories or to be armed for protection against potential terrorist attacks. Congress has also pushed for the Defense Department to lift its current policy. 
 
 The founder and president of Oath Keepers, a Constitution activist group based in Las Vegas, issued a national call Tuesday to guard centers, while members were already guarding centers in Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma, president Stewart Rhodes told the Associated Press. 
 
 Rhodes told the news service it’s “absolutely insane” that recruiters aren’t allowed to be armed. 
 
 “They’re sitting ducks,” Rhodes said Tuesday. “They’d be better off if they were walking down the streets of Baghdad, because at least in Baghdad, they could move. Here, they’re stationary.” 
 
 In Lewiston, Idaho, three men with a group known as “3 percenters” — a national alliance with members who prepare “for any situation, man-made or natural” — were standing watch outside a recruiting office this week, the TNS wire service reported. 
 
 “They supported us, and now we’re here showing them that we support them,” said Matt Dillard, of Clarkston, Wash., who was among the men. 
 
 tritten.travis@stripes.com 
 
 Twitter: @Travis_Tritten 
 
 
 
 Correction: An earlier version of this report misidentified the location of Clarkston. It is in Washington state. ||||| After four Marines and a sailor were killed by a lone gunman last week, armed civilians have volunteered to stand guard at military recruiting stations around the country — but troops are being warned to keep their distance and alert law enforcement of their presence. 
 
 In a memo published Tuesday that was obtained by Marine Corps Times, Lt. Gen. Mark Brilakis, the head of Marine Corps Recruiting Command, advised troops not to support the "armed citizen" volunteers in any way. 
 
 "These citizens' presence, while well intentioned, will be counterproductive to our recruiting operations," Brilakis wrote. 
 
 Maj. Garron Garn, a spokesman for MCRC, confirmed the authenticity of the memo. 
 
 "We are concerned for the safety of not only our Marines, but the public as a whole, and while most armed citizens have the best intentions at heart, it is not unrealistic to assume a possible incident like a negligent discharge may occur," he said in a statement provided to Marine Corps Times. "Additionally, we are concerned that armed citizens may detract interested individuals from entering our offices, which ultimately negatively effects our recruiting mission. We ask that these concerned citizens show their support in other ways that are less impactful on our mission attainment." 
 
 If armed volunteers appear in the vicinity of any Marine Corps offices, Brilakis wrote in his memo, Marines should immediately call local law enforcement to deal with them. 
 
 "Inform [law enforcement officers] that the Marine Corps did not request nor do we support [armed citizens] being in proximity of our facilities," he wrote. 
 
 Marines were also instructed to call the relevant Army Corps of Engineers representative to notify the lessor of the recruiting office property of the presence of the armed individuals. 
 
 Troops should not interact or engage with the armed citizens, Brilakis wrote, unless "absolutely necessary." If such an interaction is unavoidable, he wrote, Marines should tell the volunteers their intent is appreciated, but their presence is unnecessary, and disruptive to ongoing recruiting operations. 
 
 Under no circumstances should Marines allow an armed citizen to enter the recruiting office, or handle the citizen's weapon in any way, he wrote. 
 
 The memo was distributed as a Fast Response on Short Transition, or FROST call — a system used by Marines to disseminate information rapidly throughout a command or series of commands. The Army has issued a similar warning to its recruiters, Stars and Stripes reported. 
 
 Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, Lance Cpl. Squire K. Wells, Staff Sgt. David Wyatt, Sgt. Carson Holmquist and Navy Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Randall Smith were killed in the July 16 shooting, which took place at the Navy Operational Support Center in Chattanooga. The shooter, Mohammad Abdulazeez, also fired rounds into a nearby recruiting station, wounding one Marine in the leg. 
 
 Since then, incidences of civilians guarding recruiting stations have been reported from Colorado Springs to Texas. Two veterans' organizations, the Oathkeepers and the Three Percenters, have actively encouraged their members to guard local stations in an effort they're calling Operation Warrior Guardian. 
 
 Oath Keepers Greg Schillen, left, and Adam Bulder stand guard in front of the military recruitment offices on July 22 in Burlington, Wash., with Schillen's two dogs Clyde, left, and Buddy. 
 
 Photo Credit: Scott Terrell / Skagit Valley Herald via AP 
 
 In Lancaster, Ohio, an armed man guarding an Army recruiting office was charged with a misdemeanor after accidentally firing his AR15 rifle on Thursday, the Columbus Dispatch reported. 
 
 Marine veteran Bradley Toler was one armed volunteer who was asked to leave the premises of a local recruiting station. A former infantry lance corporal who left the Marines in 2013, Toler went to his local Marine Corps recruiting office in Jacksonville, North Carolina, on Wednesday armed with a Mosin-Nagant bolt-action rifle and a Taurus Judge revolver. 
 
 He stood outside the station for about two hours. During that time, Toler said he was thanked by civilian and military passers-by and offered bottled water by passing drivers. Ultimately, though, property owner Coldwell Banker notified the Jacksonville Police, who asked him to leave. 
 
 While Toler said he left willingly, his belief in the effectiveness of armed volunteers was unshaken. 
 
 "The great thing about this county is we stood up without wanting anything," Toler, 25, said of the grassroots effort to guard recruiting stations. "The biggest way to substantially lower the possibility of an attack is to have your presence there."
– Out of all the things that could go wrong with armed citizens guarding military recruitment centers, this was pretty minor, but it was enough to have the volunteers ordered away. Police told a group of volunteers to stop guarding a recruitment center in Lancaster, Ohio, after one of them accidentally fired a shot into the pavement, reports the Columbus Dispatch. Christopher Reed, 28, told police that his AR-15 rifle went off while he was taking ammunition out so he could show it to somebody who asked to look at it, the Dispatch reports. He was charged with discharging a firearm within city limits after somebody from the recruitment center called police. Similar groups have turned up at recruiting centers across the country in the wake of last week's Chattanooga shootings, though the Army has ordered recruiters to treat the "alleged concerned citizens" as a security threat and avoid interacting with them, Stars and Stripes reports. A Marine Corps Recruiting Command spokesman tells Marine Corps Times that while volunteers may have the "best intentions," they're not welcome, and Marines have been told to call police if they turn up. In Spanaway, Wash., volunteers guarding a recruitment center were told to leave a few hours after the Ohio incident, reports Q13 Fox. One volunteer says they were told that the landlord was worried about insurance issues.