Cape Town – A 10-year-old boy reportedly died in hospital after his father, a Durban policeman, allegedly mistook him for an intruder and shot him.
The boy reportedly sustained bullet wounds to his chest and foot.
The incident happened on Sunday at around 10:00.
According to IOL, the man was sleeping when he heard his son screaming for help. He immediately rushed downstairs and saw an unknown person at the window.
He allegedly took his state-issued firearm “and fired shots through the window from inside the house”, without realising that he was shooting at his son.
ALSO READ | Man, 77, arrested after ‘shooting’ at a fishing couple whom he allegedly mistook for hippos
The little boy was rushed to the hospital, where he unfortunately died.
“On June 19 at 10am, Mayville police were called to a house in Manor Gardens where a 10-year-old was shot. He was rushed to hospital and declared dead on arrival. A case of murder will be investigated by Mayville police,” Times Live quoted police spokesperson Brig Jay Naicker as saying.
Police said investigation were ongoing.
News24 reported in 2019 that an Ennerdale father, who claimed that he had shot his son accidentally when he was startled by a knock on his car window, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was suspended for five years.
Sibusiso Emmanuel Tshabalala shot and killed his son Luyanda, 16, at Fred Norman Secondary School in Ennerdale, southern Johannesburg, on June 5, 2018, the report said.
Tshabalala claimed at the time that he had fallen asleep in his car while waiting for his son and that he had mistaken him for a hijacker.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Pexels
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
