Stray bullet claims another child’s life

Parents believed the child injured himself accidentally bumping into dressing table

KARACHI:

A child was killed after being hit in the head by a stray bullet inside his home in Orangi Town on Monday. This incident marks the third time this year that a child has lost their life in such an incident in Karachi.

Eight-year-old Abdullah Khan was rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) but succumbed to his injuries during treatment.

Iqbal Market SHO Amin Mughal said that the child's parents initially believed that he had bumped his head against the dressing table, unaware that their son had been hit by a stray bullet.

"The house where the child is in a dilapidated state. There were rusty steel sheets on the roof. It is difficult to determine where the stray bullet came from," the police officer said.

He said that they had patrolled the area to determine whether any nearby weddings were taking place but found no evidence of such activity. Celebratory gunfire at weddings have resulted in such cases.

The police have handed over the body of the deceased child to the family and have started an investigation into the incident.

This is the third instance of a child dying after being hit by stray bullet incidents. The previous two incidents involved at a residence in Qayyumabad and in the parking area of a popular restaurant in Clifton. No arrests were made in connection with either case.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2023.