Teen fatally shot with grandfather's gun

A 13-year-old boy died after he gained access to his grandfather's gun which went off while he was holding it. File photo.

A 13-year-old boy died after he gained access to his grandfather's gun which went off while he was holding it. File photo.

Published Feb 23, 2018

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DURBAN - POLICE in the KZN South Coast are investigating how a 13-year-old boy was able to gain access to his grandfather's firearm which he fatally shot himself with.

The teenager, from Sea Park, Port Shepstone, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after returning from school.

He allegedly accessed his grandfather's firearm, which was kept in a steel cabinet in his grandfather’s room, and according to a source close to the incident died when the firearm went off while he was holding it.

The source could not immediately confirm whether the incident could be ruled as a suicide.

SAPS spokesperson, Colonel Thembeka Mbhele, confirmed the incident, and said police were investigating the failure to safeguard the firearm.

“An inquest docket is being investigated by (police at) Southport police station. An additional docket of failure to safeguard a firearm was also opened for investigation,” she said.

Earlier this month an 11-year-old boy from Macekane, on the KZN North Coast, shot and killed his 2-year-old sister before turning the gun on himself.

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Empangeni police were still investigating a case of murder and an inquest, said Mbhele.

She said the boy was playing with his father’s licensed firearm went a shot was fired and hit his sister. The child then turned the gun on himself after seeing what happened to his sister.

Gun Free South Africa director Adele Kirsten said such incidents, and those happening across the world, were devastating because the deaths were preventable.

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“Having a gun in the house poses risks and outweighs the benefits. This reminds us that the very gun brought into the home to protect you from external danger can harm you,” she told the Sunday Tribune.

Kirsten said it was known that humans make mistakes, but owning guns increases the fatal consequences of mistakes.

“It’s unnecessary, this is all preventable,” she said.

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