Tragedy have struck at the Ayeyemi area of Ondo town after an 11-year-old boy, shot and killed his friend with his father's dane gun.
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An 11-year-old boy, Ayo Afolabi, has allegedly killed his friend identified as Comfort Emmanuel, with his father’s dane gun while the two children were playing with the gun, not knowing that it was loaded, at the Ayeyemi area of Ondo town, on Wednesday.
According to Punch Metro, the father of the suspect, Olanrewaju, a farmer, had used the gun for hunting and was not at home when his son picked the gun from where it was kept.
Speaking with a correspondent, some eyewitnesses disclosed that while playing with the gun, the boy suddenly pulled the trigger while facing his friend and shot her at a close range who died on the spot.
It was gathered that men of the state police command from the Enu-Owa Police Division arrived at the scene, took away the corpse and deposited it at the morgue of the Ondo State Specialists’ Hospital, while Olanrewaju and his son were taken to the police station.
Confirming the incident, Femi Joseph, the Police Public Relations Officer of the Ondo Command, said that Olanrewaju and his son have been arrested.
He said, “It was due to negligence on the part of the father. He loaded the dane gun and kept it carelessly. The kids picked the gun and were playing with it, and the boy accidentally killed the little girl.
“The father and the boy are with us and I think the father has some explanations to make concerning that incident.“
The PPRO urged parents to always keep away weapons from the reach of the children to avoid similar occurrences in the future.