Johannesburg - Police are investigating an officer after his teenage son killed himself using his service firearm.
The Grade 7 learner, 13, was found dead with a bullet wound in the forehead in his home in Heidedal, Bloemfontein, on Tuesday.
Free State police spokesperson Colonel Thandi Mbambo said a case was being investigated following the discovery of the body of the boy with a gunshot wound.
“The firearm, believed to be his father’s service pistol, was found at the scene. No foul play is suspected and circumstances pertaining to the possible use of the father's firearm will be investigated internally,” Mbambo said.
A relative said the family were still in the dark regarding investigations into the matter.
The man asked for some time for the family to deal with their loss, saying they would speak to The Star regarding the incident after the burial.
Free State Department of Education spokesperson Howard Ndaba sent condolences to the family.
“We will be visiting the school with the view to providing psycho-social counselling, especially to the learners,” said Ndaba, adding that they were surprised the boy took his own life.
Ndaba said the department would also reach out to the boy’s family.
Last month, The Star reported about the shocking statistics on teen suicides.
South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) statistics show that 9% of teenage deaths in the country are due to suicide, concluding that the state of youth and mental health in the country was a crisis.
The stats revealed that: 31.5% of teen suicide attempts required medical treatment; 17.6% of teens had considered attempting suicide; one in four university students had been diagnosed with depression; and over 20% of 18-year-olds had attempted suicide more than once.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), half of all mental health conditions start by 14 years of age, but most cases are undetected and untreated; and more male teens die by suicide than females.
Sadag said children as young as six suffer from depression.
Dr Sebolelo Seape, chairperson of the Psychiatry Management Group, said the prevention of teen suicides started with better understanding of the symptoms of depression.
“Most people with depression are not suicidal, but most suicidal people are depressed,” she said, adding that it was important to know the symptoms of depression.
Seape said almost one in 10 teenage deaths in South Africa every year were as a result of suicide.
“Up to 20% of high school learners have tried to take their own lives,” Seape said.
According to the WHO, depression is globally the third highest disease burden among adolescents.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15- to 29-year-olds.
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