A 20-year-old Miaoli resident surnamed Feng (酆) was killed yesterday and another man injured when a boy allegedly set off a homemade firearm in his family home.
The sixth-grade boy was preparing to go hunting with his 53-year-old father surnamed Pan (潘) and relative Feng when he allegedly pulled the trigger accidentally, hitting Feng and his father, who were both standing nearby.
In a statement the police said that Pan, who is Feng’s great-uncle through marriage, was entertaining Feng at his home on Friday evening when Feng raised the idea of a hunting trip, and the young boy said he wanted to go.
Police said Feng removed a 1.2m-long firearm from his car and brought it into Pan’s home to show Pan, adding that Feng’s son picked it up to examine it.
The gun went off as the boy was handing it back to Feng, who was reportedly only 50cm from the muzzle, the report said, adding that the bullet passed through the right side of Feng’s chest before it hit Pan.
Feng’s father, who was also visiting the Pan family, rushed the two injured men to Wei Gong Memorial Hospital in Toufen Township (頭份) where Feng died of his injuries, police said.
The bullet did not go into Pan’s chest cavity and his condition stabilized after surgery was performed to remove the bullet, police said.
Police speculated that the gun’s safety was not engaged at the time the boy was handling it and he accidentally touched the trigger.
The gun is an improvised device that uses homemade ammunition, they added.
The families initially hoped to avoid making the case public and failed to contact the police when the shooting occurred, adding that attempts were made to hide the gun and clean up the blood at the scene, police said.
The police were contacted when suspicions were raised at the hospital by bullet wounds.
The boy initially denied involvement, but later confessed, saying: “I didn’t mean to do it,” when he received news of his father’s death.
The boy will be tried at the Miaoli District Juvenile and Family Court, police said.
Feng is a former soldier with the 269th Brigade, police said, adding that the brigade’s political officer came to pay his respects upon learning of Feng’s death.
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