Boy dies after shooting late father’s firearm

A 10-YEAR-old boy from Bityi near Mthatha fatally shot himself in the face on Wednesday night.

Police spokeswoman Captain Dineo Koena said the boy accidentally shot himself in the head with his late father’s gun while the rest of his family was sitting in another room at around 6.30pm.

“The gun apparently belonged to his father, who died in 2013. According to reports from two other children who were with the deceased he had persuaded them to go to the other room, because he knew where the gun was.

“He pointed at himself and unfortunately there was still a bullet in the chamber,” said Koena.

Koena said the 10-year-old was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, although she could not confirm which hospital.

She said they had opened an inquest into the matter.

She said people who owned guns that belonged to deceased family members had a number of options to avoid such accidents.

“You have the option to sell it to a dealer or to someone with a similar license.

“You can also just surrender the gun to your local police,” she said.

She emphasised “the number one regulation is to always keep the gun locked in a mounted safe, otherwise you face charges of negligence should this tragedy happen to you”. —