A grandfather has been arrested after he accidentally shot his 12-year-old grandson in the shoulder while officiating at a wedding, according to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
Michael Gardner, 62, of Odessa, Texas, was to preside over a wedding at Hillside Events in Denton, Nebraska, Saturday night when he fired a blank from his revolver into the air, Deputy Chief Ben Houchin said during a news conference. conference on Monday.
Gardner was trying to “get everyone’s attention” after the wedding started late because “someone forgot the rings,” the deputy explained, noting the firearm was a Pietta 1860 revolver and the blank contained black powder inside the casing. with glue.
“When he decided to cock the hammer of this revolver, it slipped and hit his grandson in the left shoulder, causing an injury,” Houchin said, adding that the boy was in close proximity to Gardner at the time – both of whom were outside.
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“We believe the glue is what injured the child,” Houchin said Monday. He added that the boy was transported to an area hospital before being taken to another hospital in Omaha for “further treatment” of non-life-threatening injuries.
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“We have the weapon, the ammunition and the spent casing,” Houchin said.
The deputy also said Gardner turned himself in Monday and was arrested on suspicion of felony child abuse due to the “seriousness of the injuries,” according to a press conference. “What the district attorney decides to do is up to him,” he said, adding that the crime fits the child abuse statute.
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“It’s a little careless to pull out a gun that has blanks and shoot into people,” Houchin said. “Playing with firearms, no matter what, [even] if they are empty, bad things can certainly happen.”
He added: “We do not believe that Michael intended to harm his grandson. But that act was not very smart.”
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Source: HIS Education