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Retired Rosemount Librarian Accidentally Killed By Cop

The woman was killed after a live round made its way into a gun used during an exercise at the Punta Gorda Police Department in Florida.

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William Bornhoft, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge

A retired Rosemount librarian was accidently killed Tuesday during a "shoot/don’t shoot" role-play scenario at a police department in Florida.

Police say a live round somehow wound up inside a gun fired by an officer at the Punta Gorda Police Department’s Citizen Police Academy in Florida. The bullet fatally injured the former librarian, who was taking part in the class.

According to Chief Tom Lewis, the woman, Mary Knowlton, 73, had enrolled in the two-hour class along with about 34 other area residents. Two participants were randomly chosen to take part in the role-play session that simulates the decision-making process involved in determining when to use lethal force.

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According to the Star Tribune, before retiring Knowlton was the librarian at Parkview Elementary School in Rosemount from 1988 to 2004. Knowlton was originally from Austin, Minnesota.

"Mary Knowlton was the center of our school at Parkview, and she made the library the heart of the building," Parkview Principal Nicole Frovik said.

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"Her mission was to get books in students' hands and to connect them with stories that would help them develop a love of reading."

Image via Shutterstock

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