73 year old librarian shot and killed due to negligance in Punta Gorda, Florida during training exercise

Ammo’s origin unknown

At a Tuesday press conference, Lewis said didn’t want to divulge too many specifics because of an ongoing state investigation. Asked how the real bullet found its way into the weapon used in the drill, he said the department was unaware there was any live ammo for the revolver. Officers thought there was only blank ammunition available, he said.

Knowlton was 73, according to CNN affiliate WINK. A librarian who originally hailed from Minnesota, she was listed as being on board of directors for the Friends of the Punta Gorda Library.

A longtime friend told CNN she loved children, books and learning and had myriad friends through her philanthropic work and her years with the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School District in Minnesota. She worked there for 20 years and continued part-time after her retirement, her son said.

During the scenario in which Knowlton was shot, participants played the roles of police officers, good guys and bad guys, and everyone was provided “blank guns,” Punta Gorda police Lt. Katie Heck told CNN.

Knowlton was selected to play an officer, she said. Heck said she could not verify how many times Knowlton was shot, but did confirm the drill was conducted outside the police complex.

Citizens Academy

The scenario was part of a two-hour training course. Though the city advertises an eight-session Citizens Academy, which gives residents a closer look at all facets of city government, this program was different, Heck said.  This was a police-specific event sponsored by the local Chamber of Commerce. While the police department has conducted five or six such sessions in the past, this was the first sponsored by the chamber, she said.

Police have conducted the program for two years without incident, Lewis said.  An advertisement on the chamber website said the event was sold out. Chamber President John Wright was in a meeting late Wednesday morning and couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.  Among the program’s highlights are a tour of the police department, a “show-and-tell” of various equipment used by police and the reenactment of scenarios in which officers have to make decisions on whether to fire their weapons, Heck said. The latter segment of the program was conducted just outside the police department complex, and that is where Knowlton was killed, she said.