Blackwater Guard Kept Blasting 'After Call to Stop'

At least one Blackwater security guard continued firing at Iraqis, despite colleagues' call to stop during the incendiary incident earlier this month that killed at least eight civilians, witnesses have told investigators. Another guard for the private security firm is said to have pointed his gun at a fellow employee who didn't stop firing, reports the New York Times.

The accounts are the first details to emerge in a US investigation of the shooting. American authorities have questioned guards' decision to break with protocol and rush diplomats out of a secure compound after a bombing instead of waiting for the scene to calm down. The shooting then began as the diplomats exited the zone. Blackwater officials have insisted the guards were being fired upon. (More private security firm stories.)