"A boy flies for freedom. But dies for the peace."

This is so terribly sad; I can only imagine the pain the boy's parents are experiencing. This sort of thing is one of the reasons I'm becoming less keen on private gun ownership - without really stringent checks and training, at the least. There are far too many idiots out there with weapons that can so easily kill. Now a 3-year-old is dead, his parents' lives are shattered, and the shooter's life is probably screwed up too.

The thought of random things like this happening to my kids scares the heck out of me.

Man accidentally shoots child
28/10/2008 22:25 - (SA)

Johannesburg - A three-year-old boy has been shot dead at a recreational centre in Westdene, Johannesburg police said on Tuesday.

Captain John Maluleke said a man accidentally shot dead the boy at Sunbeam playground and crèche situated at Parklane and Fourth Avenue.

A 15-year-old school boy had been walking past a park when he was robbed of his cellphone. The boy ran home and reported the incident to his father who then took his licensed firearm and went to look for the suspect.

"They spotted the suspect at the park near the crèche and he began to run. They chased him and the father then shot him but accidentally hit the three-year-old boy in his upper body and he died on the spot," Maluleke said.

He explained that police had already initially responded to the cellphone robbery when they came across the shooting incident.

The father had been charged with murder while the suspect was charged with robbery.

Both were detained at Sophiatown police station and were expected to appear at Randburg Magistrate's Court soon.

The three-year-old boy was the son of a Pretoria police captain. The boy and his sister both attended the same crèche, Maluleke said.

- SAPA

Source: News24