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Child Shot In The Face While Snake Hunting

An 11-year-old boy was the victim of an apparent accidental shooting in Morgan County Wednesday evening.

Morgan County Sheriff officials said the accident happened Wednesday around 8:00 PM in the woods behind a home on Union Hill Road.

The boys were reportedly hunting snakes with a shotgun when one of them shot the other in the face.

Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin said this is a terrible tragedy and prayers go out to both families.

�One boy is fighting for his life in the hospital and the other is left to deal with the reality that he shot his best friend,� Franklin told WHNT News 19 from the scene. The investigation continues. The names of the boys have not been released.

My prayers to all concerned. May the good Lord watch over them.

UNION GROVE, Alabama -- An 11-year-old boy accidentally shot in the face with a shotgun Wednesday while snake hunting in his backyard with a friend is in Huntsville Hospital with serious injuries, according to Sgt. Terry Kelly of the Morgan County Sheriff's Office.

The 11-year-old boy was playing with another 11-year-old friend in the back yard of their home on Union Hill Road when the accident happened, Kelly said. The 11-year-old boy shot was transported to Huntsville Hospital, Kelly said.

Kelly said the Morgan County Sheriff's Office is calling the incident an "accidental discharge." Kelly said officials believe one child loaded the shotgun without the other knowing it in what he called "a tragic accident."

"The young man who fired the gun went to the house and was banging on the door trying to get help," Kelly said. "He was very traumatized."

Kelly said young people handling firearms should always be done under supervision and by following the basic rules of firearm safety.

Oh, my. Prayer lifted for them.

A tragedy indeed, dont even want to speculate on the possible extent of injuries

The kid apparently snuck the shotgun and ammo out without the parent's knowledge.

Just curious, how many here had potential access to such things when they were kids? I'm guessing leaving a gun generally accessible was/is a real common practice all across rural America.

For my own part, coming from a non gun-owning family I finally talked 'em into letting me get a Savage .22 over 20 gauge when I was sixteen. Used to keep it and the ammo in my closet in those less suspicious days.

Through my own son's childhood OTOH everything was kept locked up, for fear of burgulary and of what his FRIENDS might do.

Birdwatcher

An accidental shooting involving two best friends in the fifth grade has left the town of Somerville in shock, sorrow, and prayer.

The boys were hunting snakes with a shotgun on Wednesday around 8 p.m. when one accidentally shot the other in the face.

Sheriff Ana Franklin says last night when the incident happened, she feared the worst for 11-year-old Devin Grady. But within 24 hours, his condition has stabilized. He�s in critical condition, but alive.

�He was shot pretty much head-on, point-blank with a shotgun, and so the fact he lived through it is a testament to how strong this child was,� said Sheriff Franklin.

Franklin calls it a tragic accident and said no charges will be filed against the boy who fired the gun or his parents.

Franklin says they were home at the time and had talked previously with the boys about gun safety.

�You do your best to teach your kids how serious this is and how dangerous they are, but they�re kids,� Franklin said. �They�re 11 years old.�

The boys both attend Union Hill School. We talked with an administrator at the school on Thursday.

�Both boys are great kids, full of energy, love life, always smiling and they�re very close friends,� said Cindy Hammond. �You never see one without the other.�

School leaders at Union Hill brought in counselors to talk with the boys� classmates and clarify mis-information they had read on Facebook Wednesday night.

�They were asking �Is the student going to be ok?� �What happened?� �Mrs. Hammond, can we talk to him?�� Hammond said.

Hammond says the answers may come out over the next three to five days, as doctors watch Devin very closely in Huntsville Hospital�s Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Friends have set up a �Pray For Devin Grady� page on Facebook where you can get updates on Devin and offer prayers.