Overview

• The shooting occurred around 12:45 pm on Thursday, 2 October, in Nothintwa, Ngcwanguba A/A, Mqanduli, according to police.
• The eight-year-old accessed his father’s licensed firearm in the bedroom, pointed it at his cousin, and a shot went off, killing the seven-year-old instantly.
• Kwaaiman Police Station opened a murder case against the boy and a failure-to-safeguard-a-firearm charge against the 48-year-old father.
• Police said the father was released on warning and was due to appear at the Mqanduli Magistrate’s Court on Friday, 3 October.
• Authorities referred the child to social workers, noting that under the Child Justice Act children under 12 lack criminal capacity and are assessed through the Children’s Court; coverage referenced a July case in Johannesburg that renewed focus on gun storage.