Police have opened a case of murder against an eight-year-old boy who allegedly got hold of his father’s licensed gun and killed his cousin, aged seven, when a shot went off at Mqanduli in the Eastern Cape.
The tragedy unfolded on Thursday afternoon.
“Cases of murder and negligence or failure to safeguard a firearm have been opened at Kwaaiman police station after the fatal shooting of a seven-year-old boy,” said police spokesperson Capt Welile Matyolo.
“The eight-year-old accessed the firearm in his father’s bedroom and pointed it at his cousin, and a shot went off, instantly killing the [child]. A case of murder was opened against the eight-year-old boy, while a failure to safeguard a firearm charge was laid against the 48-year-old father.”
The father was released on warning and is scheduled to appear in the Mqanduli magistrate’s court on Friday. His son was referred to social workers.
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