Randfontein police are investigating a case of attempted murder after an 8-year-old girl "accidentally" shot her grandfather in the head in the Helikon Park suburb‚ west of Johannesburg.
While exact details of how the shooting occurred are unclear‚ TimesLIVE understands that the 46-year-old man was found by paramedics still in bed with a single gunshot wound to the head shortly after 7am on Tuesday.
He was airlifted to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto‚ according to ER24’s Russel Meiring. The Randfontein Herald newspaper reported on Wednesday that the victim was in a stable condition.
According to Randfontein SAPS station commander Brigadier Jacob Manamela‚ the man was sleeping with the firearm under his pillow before the incident.
He did not name the injured man.
One source close to the matter‚ who did not wish to be named‚ told TimesLIVE the firearm had fallen from the bed and that some close to the family understood the child had mistaken it for a toy.
“A case of attempted murder has been opened for further investigation‚” Manamela said‚ adding a plea to firearm owners to be responsible when handling their weapons indoors.
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