A Gqeberha family is in mourning this weekend after a young girl died — allegedly at the hands of another child.
While police are investigating charges of defeating the ends of justice and culpable homicide with the possibility of adding more charges as the investigation unfolds, it is believed the incident happened at a house in Extension 31, Bethelsdorp, between 1pm and 2pm on Thursday.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the girl, only five years old, and two other children - one of them the girl's cousin - were playing with a .38 revolver when a shot went off, hitting the girl in the head.
She was rushed to hospital, where she later died.
Who exactly pulled the trigger and fired the shot remains a mystery, but the police Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) arrested a 22-year-old man on charges of defeating the ends of justice and recovered a firearm that is suspected to have led to the girl's death.
It is suspected that the three children were inside the house when they came across a firearm and started playing with it.
That is when the fatal shot was fired.
The tragic incident as it stands calls into question a whole series of events, top of the list being why three young children had access to a firearm, and a loaded one at that.
When the news broke, many had already blamed the parents without even knowing whether the incident had even occurred in their home, if the weapon belonged to them or if they were even aware of it.
Whomever is ultimately responsible - which could be more than one person - has more than a firearms charge to worry about: there’s the fact that their actions and negligence resulted in the death of a small, innocent girl.
And as the family prepare to bury their loved one, they will also have to deal with trying to explain this heartbreaking incident to the children who were with the little girl at the time.
It is an incident that will no doubt irrevocably change their lives.
Our hope is that, in the frenzy of burial preparations, those children - particularly the one that pulled the trigger - are not forgotten and that they are provided with counselling services.
We also hope this incident serves as a lesson to all to ensure their firearms are safely secured to avoid such tragedies.
HeraldLIVE
More questions than answers after little girl’s death
None
Image: 123RF/Roger Lamkin
A Gqeberha family is in mourning this weekend after a young girl died — allegedly at the hands of another child.
While police are investigating charges of defeating the ends of justice and culpable homicide with the possibility of adding more charges as the investigation unfolds, it is believed the incident happened at a house in Extension 31, Bethelsdorp, between 1pm and 2pm on Thursday.
Police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu said the girl, only five years old, and two other children - one of them the girl's cousin - were playing with a .38 revolver when a shot went off, hitting the girl in the head.
She was rushed to hospital, where she later died.
Who exactly pulled the trigger and fired the shot remains a mystery, but the police Anti-Gang Unit (AGU) arrested a 22-year-old man on charges of defeating the ends of justice and recovered a firearm that is suspected to have led to the girl's death.
It is suspected that the three children were inside the house when they came across a firearm and started playing with it.
That is when the fatal shot was fired.
The tragic incident as it stands calls into question a whole series of events, top of the list being why three young children had access to a firearm, and a loaded one at that.
When the news broke, many had already blamed the parents without even knowing whether the incident had even occurred in their home, if the weapon belonged to them or if they were even aware of it.
Whomever is ultimately responsible - which could be more than one person - has more than a firearms charge to worry about: there’s the fact that their actions and negligence resulted in the death of a small, innocent girl.
And as the family prepare to bury their loved one, they will also have to deal with trying to explain this heartbreaking incident to the children who were with the little girl at the time.
It is an incident that will no doubt irrevocably change their lives.
Our hope is that, in the frenzy of burial preparations, those children - particularly the one that pulled the trigger - are not forgotten and that they are provided with counselling services.
We also hope this incident serves as a lesson to all to ensure their firearms are safely secured to avoid such tragedies.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Your Weekend
Your Weekend
Your Weekend
Your Weekend
Your Weekend