Boy killed by friend with dad's gun
A nine-year-old boy was shot dead when his 10-year-old friend played with his father's gun in Khuma, Stilfontein, North West police said on Monday.
"Three children were playing with a toy gun when the 10-year-old boy took his father's licensed firearm from beneath the mattress, and a few minutes later the shot went off and instantly killed the nine-year-old boy," Sergeant Kealeboga Molale said.
The incident occurred on Friday around 4pm. An inquest docket was opened and the 10-year-old's father was arrested, Molale said.
The man, 53, would appear in the Stilfontein Magistrate's Court on Monday for contravening the Firearms Control Act by allegedly failing to lock his firearm in a safe.
The 10-year-old boy was being assessed by social workers. Molale could not confirm or deny whether murder charges would form part of the investigation.
(File photo: Gallo Images)