9 year old boy kills a 7 year old girl with a police pistol in Phuket
A 7 year old girl was shot dead by a 9 year old boy with a policeman’s pistol at a house in Ratsada Sub-district, Mueng District in Phuket.
The police officer, a relative of the homeowner, later said he forgot he had left a loaded gun at the house.
The girl was sent to Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization Hospital with a bullet wound to her chest. The hospital immediately reported the incident to the police. The girl later died at a hospital.
The Superintendent of Mueng Phuket Police Station, Sarawut Chooprasert, told the media the incident took place at about 11am last Saturday, August 6.
Sarawut reported that the police questioned the relatives and the house owner about the incident. The house owner was reported to be a 37-year-old woman called Jiraporn. She said the girl was shot by her male cousin aged 9 years old.
Jiraporn revealed that she held a house blessing ceremony and invited relatives to attend. When the incident happened all of the adults were eating on the first floor while the two children were playing on the second floor.
The boy went into the main bedroom, found a gun inside the wardrobe, thought it was a toy, and brought it out to play with the girl.
Sarawut reported that the boy won’t be prosecuted as he is under 12 years old, according to the Criminal Law Section 73. The girl’s family understood and won’t file a complaint.
The gun, a 9-millimetre semi-automatic pistol, the SIG Sauer P320, reportedly belonged to a police officer who was one of the relatives. The officer said he forgot the gun was left at the house.
Maybe questions should be asked about why a police officer would forget he left a loaded gun at a relative’s house.
