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.
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