A Nebraska wedding accident happened after a grandfather officiating the ceremony decided to fire his revolver.
Authorities said that there was no ill intent in the man's action. However, it injured his beloved grandson. If you are curious why this unfortunate incident happened, here's the full story.
Nebraska Wedding Accident: Officiating Grandpa Fires Revolver, Injures Grandson
According to CBS News' latest report, a 62-year-old man accidentally shot his grandson the weekend before a wedding ceremony. Before the incident, guests were somehow panicking because somebody forgot to bring the wedding rings needed for the ceremony.
Because of this, the ceremony started late on Saturday, Sept. 30. Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said that wedding guests were spread out at the Hillside Events venue in Denton, Lancaster County. To get everyone's attention, the officiating grandpa, Michael Gardner, used his revolver to shoot the gun outside.
CNN US reported that the gun was a Pietta Model 1860 Snub Nose revolver. But the man didn't use a live bullet. Instead, he decided to use a blank bullet to ensure that his action would not harm anyone. Unfortunately, this is not what happened.
"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," said Houchin.
The chief deputy explained that Gardner made the blank bullets by putting black powder into the 0.45 casings and gluing it.
"What we believe is the glue is what injured the child," the law enforcement official added.
What Happened to the Grandson?
Luckily, the grandson is still alive and only suffering from non-life-threatening injuries. But, he sustained a deep laceration to his left shoulder.
Responders and authorities took the kid to a local hospital. After that, he was transferred to another facility in Omaha for further treatment.
On Monday, Oct. 2, the grandfather turned himself in, allowing law enforcement officials to investigate the incident. Houchin said he doesn't believe Gardner intended to harm his beloved grandson. However, the chief deputy still criticized his action, saying it wasn't very smart.
"Playing with firearms, no matter what, [even] if they're blanks, bad things can certainly happen," he added.
