A Texas county commissioner will spend one year on probation for accidentally shooting his grandson during a Nebraska wedding he was officiating.
Michael Gardner, 63, of Odessa, Texas, was sentenced Monday for misdemeanor child abuse in the September 2023 shooting. His grandson, then 12, survived the shoulder wound.
“It’s something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life,” said Gardner, who was recently reelected as a county commissioner in Ector County in Texas.
The shooting happened when Gardner pulled out a revolver, intending to fire a blank round into the air to signal the start of the outdoor ceremony near the small town of Denton in southeastern Nebraska. But as he was cocking the gun’s hammer, it fired, hitting the now 13-year-old boy.
“It’s something I’ll have to deal with for the rest of my life,” said Gardner
“I shot someone, so I’m the real victim here!” (In Nebraska, victim shoot you?)
Now I’m reminded of Dick Cheney shooting that guy and the guy having to apologize to Cheney for it.
The shooting happened when Gardner pulled out a revolver, intending to fire a blank round into the air to signal the start of the outdoor ceremony
No fucking reason to shoot a live gun into the air. This alone should be charged as reckless endangerment.
On the one hand, firing a blank in the air is harmless. On the other hand, how fucking close was he that the kid was as injured as he was from the blank?
It was a homemade blank, using hot glue to “hold it all together”. I’m guessing the poor kid got a plug of hot glue in his shoulder.
Also no fucking reason to even have a weapon at a wedding ceremony.
Especially not for participants.
(Maybe a security guard might need to be armed, but even then what kind of a place are you holding the wedding at that it would be needed??)
Eh it’s part of the culture, especially if it’s a blank
Idk if a blank would be considered a live gun but I do agree with you.
Well based on the fact that he shot his grandson, it doesn’t seem to have been a blank after all.
Yes, that is also true, and imo he should have gotten a far more harsh punishment. Not only did he almost kill someone he undoubtedly gave at the bare minimum the child life long ptsd.
At close range, a blank can kill.
Still not considered a live round.
Agreed
But as he was cocking the gun’s hammer, it fired
Come on. It didn’t fire, he accidentally pulled the trigger while trying to pull back the hammer - I wouldn’t be surprised if he barely uses the fucking thing because it’s a security blankie to him and not a dangerous tool of destruction. I hate this passive language bullshit when it comes to things people obviously did.
And they’re taking away his guns because he’s clearly not responsible, right? Right?
Meanwhile on the same page, I see a thread about some kid charged with a felony for pointing a finger gun
Was it loaded?
If I can’t Accidentally Shoot my 12 YEAR OLD GRANDSON then you’re INFRINGING ON MY SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS!
Isn’t there a saying? A Texas wedding where nobody gets shot is a boring affair?
Maybe I’m confusing it with something else.
Everything’s bigger in Texas
Except for brains
And accountability.
Needs more grandmas with guns to shoot the grandpas with guns.
That last paragraph was a wild ride. I was like “Oh, Denton? Okay yeah, sure, I can see that.” and bam, then it’s suddenly Nebraska.
The best ever death metal band out of Denton
Will in time both outpace and outlive you
Hail AKs
Hail ARs, tonight
Hail gun death
Hail hail
I can definitely see Cotton Hill or Dale Gribbel (RIP) doing this
Did he mistake his grandson for a quail?
This totally happens in other countries too…
Not really tho. It’s rare to hear of accidental shootings in Canada.
It doesn’t. It really really doesn’t.
It might have happened, once, in maybe Congo, in the 70’s, or whatever.
Stop worshipping guns. Simple.
I mean if we wanna talk specifically about shooting people at weddings, the middle east would like a word.
