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A West Texas countyofficial could be facing a felony after a blank round he fired from his revolver injured his grandson during a wedding in Nebraska, authorities said.
In a news conference earlier this week, Ben Houchin, chief deputy of the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office in Nebraska, said deputies were called to an events venue related to a gunshot injury.
Authorities learned that Michael Gardner, 62, who was officiating a wedding, fired a homemade blank round with his “snub-nosed revolver,” Houchin said. Gardner, of Odessa, Texas, is an Ector County commissioner. Ector County is more than 350 miles west of Dallas.
Houchin said Gardner was trying to get the attention of the people at the wedding by shooting the blank round into the air. pull back the hammer of this revolver, it slipped and it shot his grandson in the left shoulder, causing an injury,” Houchin said.
Glue from the homemade ammunition is believed to have injured the boy, who is 12 years old, according to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office. He is expected to recover.
Gardner, who turned himself in Monday to authorities in Lancaster County, could face a felony child abuse charge, according to The Associated Press. Prosecutors are still deciding whether to charge Gardner but the sheriff’s office is recommending the child abuse charge.
Gardner told The Associated Press that the firearm was “scripted into the wedding,” adding that he is not sure if he would be able to “get over” the incident. The wedding was in Denton, Neb., about 12 miles from Lincoln.
“I’ve been around guns all my life, and I’ve never had anything like this happen,” Gardner told The Associated Press.
A request for more information sent to an email address listed for Gardner on the Ector County website was not immediately responded to.
Investigators do not believe Gardner intended to hurt his grandson, Houchin said.
“But the act was not very smart,” he added.