Gun blamed for shooting

A faulty family heirloom has been blamed for the accidental shooting of a 10-year-old boy who was duckshooting with his father and uncle on a Tarras farm earlier this year.

An police investigation into the incident, that happened on May 16, determined the .410-calibre shotgun was faulty. The boy was shot in the hand after it fired when he dropped it. The "sharp blow" of it being dropped had triggered the firearm and a worn mechanism resulted in the shotgun being able to operate without the trigger being pulled.

Sergeant Mike Williams, of Cromwell, said "it was unlucky the round hit (the boy) but he was very lucky it hadn't hit anywhere else".

The boy suffered serious injuries to his right hand and was flown to Dunedin Hospital where he under went reconstruction surgery.

The gun had been returned to the family, as it was a third generation family heirloom, on the condition it would be de-commissioned.

Mr Williams said the gun looked old but did not have any visible showing faults.

The message from the shooting was to make safety paramount to any hunting trip, check equipment and make sure people would behaviour appropriately, Mr Williams said. No further action would be taken by police.che.baker@stl.co.nz

- © Fairfax NZ News