The boy was hit in the abdomen with a single bullet from the 12-gauge shotgun and did not make it alive to the hospital.
The guard, Albert Quirit, surrendered to the Mandaue City police after the incident, claiming the shooting was an accident.
Quirit said he caught the boy and his two young companions allegedly trying to steal abandoned parts of machinery.
He said the three boys tried to escape by climbing out of the perimeter fence but he forced them to come back down.
While scolding the boys, he said one of them grabbed his shotgun and tried to take it away from him.
In the ensuing struggle, Quirit said the gun went off, hitting the boy in the abdomen. The other boys fled by jumping over the fence and the guard no longer made any attempt to stop them.
The wounded boy was rushed to the hospital but he did not reach it alive.
The incident happened in the compound of Shemberg Marketing in Barangay Paknaan, Mandaue City.
Company spokesman Pete Borja said he was not aware of the incident but promised that security officers would look into the matter. — Flor Perolina and Jose Sollano/ Freeman News Service