A Texas grandfather who was about to officiate a wedding in Nebraska errantly shot and wounded his own 12-year-old grandson when he tried to fire a gun in the air to get the attention of guests Saturday, according to authorities.
Odessa, Texas resident Michael Gardner, 62, is facing legal trouble after the Pietta 1860 snub nose revolver went off around 5 p.m. and accidentally struck the young boy in the shoulder at Hillside Events, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Ben Houchin said during a press conference Monday.
The gun fired a blank round that had black powder in the casing that was glued together, the sheriff’s official said.
Before the attention-catching shot, guests were scattered around the Denton, Nebraska venue because the nuptials started late after someone forgot the wedding rings, Houchin explained.
“When he decided to cock back the hammer of this revolver it slipped and it shot his grandson in the left shoulder, causing an injury,” Houchin said, later adding. “What we believe is the glue injured the child.”
The injury was non-life threatening, though the boy still required hospitalization.
“We do not believe Michael intended to hurt his grandchild, but the act was not very smart,” Houchin said.
Gardner was still slapped with a child abuse charge because of the carelessness and the injury to the youngster, the chief deputy said. He surrendered to authorities Monday.
“It’s just kind of neglectful to take a gun out that has blanks and fire it amongst people,” he said.
Everyone is a Responsible Gun Owner™ until they aren’t.
I inherited 3 guns from my father in law. They stay locked in the safe. Where am I irresponsible?
Are you legally required to do so? What penalties do you face if you don’t? Should we drop all DUI laws because you claim you’ll never drive drunk?
You missed my point. They all claim to have been responsible gun owners before they did the thing that made them irresponsible. Which pretty much cancels out any notion that there is such a thing.
