CEBU, Philippines - A seven-year-old boy accidentally killed his four-year-old brother after shooting him in the upper lip while playing with a .45 cal. pistol in Barangay Bantigue, Bantayan town.
Even if the parents of the children denied owning the gun, they can still be held liable for violation of the Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act.
Both kids were playing Counter Strike, an online first-person shooter game, when the older brother found the pistol in the cabinet and started playing with it. Their mother, who was in the kitchen cooking lunch, just heard a single gunshot and rushed to find the younger boy bleeding.
He was rushed to the Bantayan District Hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician. The Department of Social Welfare and Development will subject the older sibling to a stress debriefing.
Meanwhile, an eight-year-old boy was injured after a .22 cal. revolver he found and played with went off last Sunday evening in Barangay Tonggo, San Fernando town.
James Brian Tapere was injured in the right leg after he pulled the trigger of the revolver which he mistook for a toy gun. He was taken to the Carcar Provincial Hospital for medical treatment and is now in stable condition.
The boy was reportedly in their house with his parents, William and Crestita Tapere when the incident happened around 8 p.m. James Brian was said to have found the revolver within their premises but the boy’s family denied owning the gun.
Senior Insp. Gerard Ace Pelare, San Fernando chief, said that couple did not immediately notice their son found the gun and played with it. A few minutes later, a gunshot was heard and James Brian was already bleeding.
Police found out that the revolver had no more lock in the revolving cylinder. Pelare added they can also file appropriate charges against the family if proven a family member owned the revolver.
“I-prove sa namo daan if ilaha ang armas anha na mosulod ang negligence sa part sa family,†Pelare said. –(FREEMAN)