12-year-old boy shoots dead younger brother

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines -  A game of hide and seek  turned deadly when a 12-year old boy accidentally shot and killed his eight-year old brother in a village of Siay town, Zamboanga Sibugay province, police said Monday.

Police said the siblings were residing   in Barangay Sibuguey.

Investigation disclosed that both children were with their parents,  who are employed as  tenant and helper in the house of a certain Dasio Lumbuan,   and were playing hide and seek  at about 7p.m Saturday when the elder brother reportedly saw a 12-guage shotgun hidden under the bed.

Chief Inspector Ariel Huesca, Spokesman of Police Regional Office 9 (PRO), said police investigators further disclosed that the mother of both minors heard a burst of gunfire coming from the room, prompting her to rush to the room.

“The police said the mother saw her younger son lying on the floor and bathing with his own blood while in the corner was the elder son,  speechless and shocked,  holding the firearm,” Huesca said in a statement.

Further investigation disclosed that the shotgun was owned by the late Alfredo Lumbuan, the former owner of the house.

The firearm was recovered by the police of Siay Municipal Police Station while the elder brother  was placed under the custody of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).