MANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Friday said it would investigate the accidental death of a 12-year-old boy who played with his father's service firearm in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan.
The victim reportedly took his father’s PNP-issued Beretta 9mm pistol from a cabinet at home and brought it to school. He was reportedly playing with the service firearm inside a comfort room when it accidentally went off and hit him on the head.
The PNP would give the child's family time to grieve before looking into how the victim gained access to the gun, said PNP Public Information Office chief Col. Redrico Maranan.
The student’s father – with the rank of executive master sergeant – is assigned at the PN Headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City. Local authorities said the father was at home at the time of the incident, earlier reports said.
Maranan reminded fellow police officers to exercise caution in handling firearms.
"Pag ang atin pong service firearms ay hindi natin dala-dala, dapat po 'yan ay nakalagay sa isang lalagyan na secured, may lock at hindi po maa-access ng sinumang tao na walang karapatan na humawak at gumamit niyan," Maranan said in interview.
(Whenever we do not not carry our service firearms, they must be kept in a container that is secured, locked, and cannot be accessed by any person who does not have the right to hold and use them.)
The PNP has also instructed all its regional and provincial directors to give their contact details to school officials for easier coordination on on-campus security concerns, he added.