By Bahle Gama and Nokunceda Magagula
A SIX-year-old girl has died after being allegedly shot by her seven-year-old cousin in the chest with a pellet gun.
The incident was confirmed by the Chief Police Information and Communications Officer (PICO) Phindile Vilakati through a statement. Vilakati stated that the incident occurred on Saturday evening around 5 pm in the Kutsimleni area near Mliba.
According to a community member, the incident happened at a homestead where two minors who are cousins were allegedly playing with the gun that accidentally went off, claiming the life of the other.
The seven-year-old reportedly joked that he would shoot the six-year-old while holding the gun towards his cousin. As he continued jokingly poking the gun, it accidentally went off, hitting the six-year-old once in the chest and claiming her life.
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In an interview, the pellet gun owner and grandfather to the seven-year-old child who can not be named to protect the identity of the minors, said he was shocked at the turn of events.
The grandfather said according to his knowledge, a pellet gun is not a deadly weapon to humans but has since changed that mindset after the death of the minor.
“I am still shocked and have no words. When I received a phone call in the morning, I was dumbfounded and have been wondering how this child managed to even pick and fire the gun because it has some weight to it,” he said.
The grandfather said the minors in the family had been warned previously not to play with the gun and always listened. No one thought it would lead to such an unfortunate incident.
Meanwhile, the grandfather said the pellet gun was loaded in readiness for use by one family member and was not properly placed resulting in the minors having direct access to it.
“The other boy who usually uses the gun had left it in readiness for hunting birds without further preparations. Unfortunately, he had placed it in a place where the children were able to take and play with it not knowing it was armed,” he said.
He stated that the minor was shot in the chest and attempts were made to save her life, in which they then decided to call and notify the police about the accident.
Police arrived and rushed the minor to the hospital where she was certified dead upon arrival. He pleaded for assistance from the nation to help in burying his grandchild as they are a struggling family.
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Such incidents have become prevalent globally, raising questions about gun safety and access to weapons. On March 28, 2022, CNN reported that two cousins from Missouri in the USA were livestreaming when one allegedly fatally shot the other before turning the gun on herself. They were 12 and 24 years old respectively.
On August 16, 2023, a six-year-old boy in Jacksonville, Florida died after he was accidentally shot in the head by a nine-year-old who was reportedly handling the gun and it accidentally went off.
‘This is negligence on parent/guardian’s side’
Attorney Mlindzi Mthethwa says the parents/guardian’s negligence is to blame for the six-year-old’s death. Mthethwa was replying to what usually happens in such a case that involves a minor.
He said by law, when a person is under the age of 16, they are still considered a minor, therefore they do not have the legal capacity to act.
“Now it is a problem because there is a parent or guardian. They careless if there is a gun and it does not matter whether it is a pellet because it is supposed to be always kept in a safe. Putting the gun handling aside, as a parent, one has the responsibility to ensure that their children are always in their sight at all times,” he said.
In terms of treating it as a criminal matter, Mthethwa said it is difficult because there is a minor involved who has no idea what he has done and does not understand the gravity of the situation.
According to Mthethwa, the seven-year-old would not even be kept in custody nor would he qualify to be enrolled at a juvenile school.
“However, it does not change that there is a criminal liability. A life was lost, but how will it stand to a person who does not have a legal capacity to act? In the event he is subjected to an arrest, even in court he will be represented by his parent/guardian,” he said.
The attorney said one way in which the matter could be dealt with in court is if it could be hybridized into a civil matter whereby a claim on grounds of carelessness is made by one parent pointing out the other parent’s negligence in handling the weapon resulting in such a tragedy.
