An airman has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of Airman Brayden Lovan, 21, last month, which prompted the Air Force to curtail the use of M18 pistols, according to the service.
“Out of an abundance of caution and based on initial reporting, Air Force authorities ordered various safety precautions involving the M18 after this tragic event,” an Air Force spokesperson said in a statement “ Since then, the investigation has progressed and an individual has now been arrested on suspicion of making a false official statement, obstruction of justice, and involuntary manslaughter.”
The Air Force has not yet identified the airman who was arrested for the July 20 shooting of Lovan at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
“As with all individuals accused of a crime, the person arrested in this case is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law,” the spokesperson said. “The investigation in this case is ongoing and further details are not available.”
On July 21, the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command suspended the use of M18 pistols pending the outcome of investigations into Lovan’s death. Security Forces airmen with the command were issued M4 carbines to replace their M18s.
Shortly afterward, some Air Combat Command units also temporarily restricted using M18s, although the command as a whole did not suspend using the pistols.
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The Air Force then ordered service-wide inspections of its M18 pistols to “validate the serviceability of weapons and reinforce confidence in their use,” a service spokesperson told Task & Purpose earlier this month.
However, Officials from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps told Task & Purpose in July that those services had no plans to pause use of the pistols, which are made by Sig Sauer.
The M18 pistol is a compact variant of the Army’s Modular Handgun System, which all the military branches have adopted as their standard sidearms since 2017. The pistols replaced the M9, which first entered service in 1985.
UPDATE: 08/08/2025; This story was updated after publication with additional information surrounding the fatal shooting and the Air Force’s response.
