An Alabama state lawmaker, and outspoken gun rights advocate, is thanking “God” after one of his young son’s accidentally shot his older brother in the back with the dad’s rifle.
Rep. Ernie Yarbrough, a Republican and father of four, told the Alabama Daily News that his 13-year-old son was making a speedy recovery after the harrowing incident at their Lawrence County home Saturday nearly took the teen’s life.
“Thanks be to God, all is well. A flesh wound only. He has been playing basketball with me tonight,” Yarbrough said.
A child, who was later identified as Yarbrough’s 6-year-old son, accidentally shot his older brother in the back of the shoulder at the residence, Lawrence County Chief Deputy Brian Covington told the TimesDaily.
It is unclear how the little boy was able to retrieve his dad’s .556-caliber AR-style rifle from a bedroom while Yarbrough and his wife were home, the outlet reported.
It’s also unclear if Yarbrough’s two other children witnessed the shooting.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office notified the Alabama Department of Human Resources, which is requirement whenever kids are involved in a shooting, AL.com reported.
The Lawrence County District Attorney’s Office has launched a probe into the shooting.
Yarbrough, a first-term lawmaker in the Alabama statehouse, is a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment, according to his campaign website.
In 2023, he sponsored a bill that prohibits the enforcement of any “red flag” laws, which are intended to prevent mentally and emotionally unstable people from gaining legal access to firearms.
The unsuccessful bill, dubbed the “Anti-Red Flag Gun Seizure Act,” stipulated that any state or local law enforcement officer found abiding by a red flag law would be subject to a $50,000 civil penalty.
The act also laid out a judicial relief process for anyone who could prove they were “injured” when they were subject to a red flag law.
The same bill failed to pass the state legislature again last year.
Previously, Yarbrough touted an endorsement from the National Association of Gun Rights, AL.com reported.
The NAGR mirrors the National Rifle Association — save for its hardline on “absolutely NO COMPROMISE on gun rights issues,” according to its website.
The Post reached out to Yarbrough for comment.