Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said 62-year-old Michael Gardner, the wedding's officiant, fired a gun to get everyone's attention.

A Texas man accidentally shot a child while officiating a wedding in Lancaster County on Saturday, the sheriff’s office says.

Chief Deputy Ben Houchin said deputies were sent to a wedding at Hillside Events near Denton on a report of a gunshot wound.

Deputies learned that 62-year-old Michael Gardner, the wedding’s officiant, fired a gun to get everyone’s attention.

“He was going to fire in the air, and as he did that, it slipped and went off,” Houchin said.

The gun was loaded with a blank that Gardner made with gunpowder and glue.

    • hperrin@lemmy.world
      6·
      9 months ago

      His death was a squib load, which is where a bullet is lodged in the barrel, not in the casing. The blast from the blank projected the bullet out of the barrel.

      But yes, just the blast can kill too.

      • ThunderingJerboa@kbin.social
        1·
        9 months ago

        You are correct but the Jon-Erik Hexum did actually play russian roulette with a revolver loaded with a blank and suffered from braindeath, so it is still very worth noting that blanks can still very much kill.