DECATUR, Ala. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old was critically injured when he was accidentally shot in the face by a friend while the two were hunting snakes.

WAFF reports (http://bit.ly/Lk4XcE ) that Devin Grady was taken to Huntsville Hospital with serious injuries after the shooting Wednesday night. The fifth-grader from Union Hill Elementary has undergone surgery.

Authorities say the other boy, who was not named, did not know the gun was loaded.

Morgan County Sheriff Ana Franklin said it was "an awful situation of carelessness." Franklin said the guns belonged to Grady and his parents didn't know he had the firearms.

No charges have been filed in the case.

___

Information from: WAFF-TV, http://www.waff.com/