Boy, 10, accidentally shoots cousin, 9, dead

MAASIN, ILOILO, , Philippines – A 9-year-old boy died on the spot after he was accidentally shot by his 10-year-old cousin with a 12-gauge shotgun Tuesday morning inside their grandfather’s house at Brgy. Panalian in this town.

The victim, Melvin Magarse, succumbed to a gunshot injury on the left side portion of his body just below his armpit.

Magarse and his cousin, both Grade 3 pupils of Panalian Elementary School, were playing with the latter’s older sister and younger brother and did not attend school at the time.

Their parents left them at the house to visit their grandfather, Baltazar Magarse, who was confined in a hospital.

Inspector Ariel Corcino, chief of the Maasin Police Station, said the 10-year-old boy might have gotten the shotgun from his grandfather’s things. “He played with it but it went off and hit Melvin,” he said.

After the incident, the boy was trembling and could not speak due to the trauma. He was put in custody of the Maasin Municipal Social Welfare Office for counseling. – THE FREEMAN