KZN boy (3) shoots himself with father’s gun

A three-year-old child was shot dead while playing with his father’s firearm in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, police said.

According to police spokesperson Captain Charmaine Struwig, the boy had managed to get hold of his father’s gun, and shot himself,Ladysmith Gazette reported.

The shooting reportedly took place shortly before noon on Sunday while the toddler was in a bedroom, and his mother was busy in the kitchen.

When police officers arrived at the scene, they found the boy had been shot through the mouth.

An inquest docket had been opened to determine the exact circumstances surrounding the incident.

This comes after President Jacob Zuma told MPs that police were looking at more stringent controls on gun ownership during his annual address in the National Council of Provinces on 7 November.

“To this end, police will take advantage of the proposed changes in the Firearms Control Act to introduce more stringent measures for gun control and ownership,” he said.

Earlier in the year, a seven year-old-boy was accidentally shot by his father at a hunting expo in Midrand.

The boy was allegedly shot whilst in a toilet cubicle accompanied by his father and another child. While in the toilet cubicle with his son, the gun reportedly went off, wounding the boy in the chest.

The father, Sean Kotzin, was charged with attempted murder and appeared in the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court in May where he was granted R2 000 bail.

– Caxton News Service