Mississippi Shooting Range Appeals Navy SEAL Wrongful Death Case

Attorneys for a northwest Mississippi shooting range are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal in case involving the death of a Naval SEAL during a training exercise.

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled in January that the wrongful-death lawsuit filed the SEAL’s family brought was erroneously dismissed by a DeSoto County judge. The Mississippi high court ordered the case to trial.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Shapoor Alexander Ghane Jr. was killed in 2008 when a bullet fired during an exercise struck him in the chest, even though he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

Attorneys for the Ghane family have until July 7 to response to the request.

Authorities said the bullet that killed Ghane first passed through a wall behind which Ghane was crouching and struck him through a gap in the vest.

The Navy said the incident occurred on Jan. 30, 2008 during a close-quarters combat training exercise at Mid-South Institute of Self-Defense Shooting in Lake Cormorant, near Walls in northwest Mississippi. The private facility has been used for training by the military and law enforcement agencies for years.

Ghane joined the Navy in June 2004 and entered SEAL training in November 2004 in Coronado, California. He joined the West Coast SEAL teams in June 2007.

Ghane’s mother, Narjess Ghane, filed the lawsuit in 2009 against Mid-South. She argued the wall through which the bullet passed was not bulletproof as intended. Mid-South built the wall for the training exercise.