Girl hit by shotgun pellets in her home
Two men arrested over shooting
ALOR SETAR: A 12-year-old girl was hit 13 times by stray shotgun pellets at her home in Kampung Lubuk Keriang, Pokok Sena, near here.
She was having dinner with her family in the kitchen when a shot fired by a bird hunter hit the house and her.
Nur Syahida Bakar was struck in the head, chest, legs, right shoulder and arm at about 6.30pm while the fridge near her was peppered by more than 50 pellets.
She was writhing in pain on the floor after being hit, her family told police.
Minutes later, two men who lived nearby tried to apologise to the girl’s father, Bakar Saad, 45. One of them was holding a shotgun.
Kota Setar district police chief Asst Comm Mohd Rozi Jidin said the 52-year-old hunter and his friend, 46, were arrested.
He said the 74-year-old father of the hunter, who is the licensed owner of the shotgun, was also arrested but released after police took into consideration his age and that he did not know his son had borrowed the gun.
State Health director Datuk Dr Norhizan Ismail said Nur Syahida was in stable condition after a specialist operated on her yesterday to remove the pellets.
Bernama reported that the back door in the kitchen was ajar while the family was having their meal.
“Syahida was in line with the open door, which was how she got hit,” Bakar told the news agency.
She is the second of four children.
He said he was at the table while his wife, Nur Syahida and her three-year-old sibling were seated on the floor.
“Luckily, my wife and youngest child were not hit,” he said at the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital where he had rushed Nur Syahida to.