A TWELVE YEAR-OLD Mtubatuba boy shot and killed his cousin (12) and then shot himself on Sunday.
The tragedy happened near Zuluvuka Store in the Machibini Reserve on the outskirts of KwaMsane.
Police reported the two boys were alone in a house while their elder brother was in another house nearby.
The elder brother heard the sound of a gun being fired and went to investigate.
He saw his younger brother emerging from the house with a firearm in his hand, running towards nearby bushes.
Inside the house he found his cousin dead, lying in a pool of blood with a gunshot wound to his forehead.
He then ran after his brother, but failed to catch him and returned to tell his elders about the incident.
While busy at the scene of the shooting, they heard another gunshot in the bushes.
There they found the body of the younger brother who had shot himself in the chest.
The firearm reportedly belongs to their grandfather who had gone to Vryheid to attend a funeral.
It is not yet clear how the boys got hold of the safe keys to gain access to the gun.
The police opened a murder case and a docket for negligent handling of a firearm.
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