Toddler hit by stray bullet succumbs to injuries

A toddler who was critically injured by a stray bullet in the parking area of a popular restaurant in Clifton earlier this week succumbed to his injuries on Thursday.

Two-year-old Hassan Sajjad is the second child to have been killed by a stray bullet in less than a week. The family, residents of Scheme 33 in Gulzare-Hijri, had come to the restaurant near Bilawal House in Clifton for a wedding dinner on Sunday.

The fatal injury occurred while the family was in the parking area. Police said the bullet was fired from an assault rifle. The child, bleeding profusely from the head, was rushed to a nearby hospital, and then moved to another hospital on Stadium Road in critical condition.

The Boat Basin police registered a case against unidentified suspects on behalf of the State. The family had refused to pursue it. Police said they had detained some suspects who had been released after questioning.

This was the second such death within one week. On February 10, six-year-old Abdul Ghani was killed in similar circumstances. He was hit by a stray bullet while travelling with his family in a minivan near KPT Interchange in Qayyumabad. Police have not been able to trace the culprits.