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.
Every gun owner thinks they’re a responsible gun owner.
Well, to be fair, this guy was responsible… responsible for shooting his own grandson in the shoulder.
Yeah, as a gun owner, I try to avoid other gun owners. I went to have my my rifle scope bore sighted for the hunting season today. The guy at the counter picked up my rifle and flagged everyone in the damn store with it. I asked him to set it back in the case and left. I knew the gun was clear, and an employee cleared it when I came in, but you still don’t do that, period. Now that I think about it, the guy didn’t even clear it before picking it up and flagging everyone with it.
Same.
I once watched a range safety officer finish his shift, then step up to the firing line with his own handgun and promptly point the muzzle down the line at me while chambering the first round. I packed up and left, and haven’t been back.
It’s really crazy how cavalier folks are around firearms. It only takes one lapse in judgement or attention to drastically change lives forever.