By Vanesa Brashier, vbrashier@hcnonline.com

Liberty County commissioner involved in accidental shooting

A Liberty County official is recovering from an injury he received July 6 when his firearm accidentally discharged.

Pct. 2 Commissioner Greg Arthur, former sheriff of Liberty County, was on a brief holiday with his wife and family at Garner State Park in Uvalde County when the accident occurred.

"We were at the pavilion and I was wearing my concealed handgun. It was shifting around a little bit so I stepped out into the parking lot to readjust," Arthur said.

While making adjustments, Arthur says he accidentally hit the trigger, causing the gun to fire downward toward the ground. The bullet grazed Arthur's leg, entering the skin and creating a gash before it exited and hit the ground. As it hit the ground, fragments of concrete and the bullet reportedly scattered, hitting two other nearby people including a 6-year-old boy.

"The boy was hit by either a piece of concrete or a fragment. It hit him in the foot. He was taken to a hospital for treatment. The other guy was treated on the scene. He also was hit in the foot," Arthur said.

In his 40 years of law enforcement as sheriff and a sergeant for the Texas Department of Public Safety, Arthur said he never accidentally discharged his handgun before now or had to shoot at anyone. He says he is extremely remorseful for any injuries his actions caused.

"The worse thing is that little boy was injured. That bothers me more than anything," he said. "It was just an accident."

The incident is the second time a firearm owned by Arthur has accidentally discharged. Several years ago, a Liberty business owner and a friend of Arthur's accidentally shot himself with Arthur's handgun. The business owner sustained non-life threatening injuries.

"He was in his car by himself when that happened," Arthur said. "I was outside of the car talking to someone else."

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Liberty County commissioner involved in accidental shooting - Chron.com