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Cape Town - According to reports Andile Gumbi's 4-year-old son is recovering in hospital after he "allegedly shot himself in the lower body on Sunday when he was handling [a] firearm."
Isibaya actor Andile died in October after suffering a heart attack while working on a musical in Israel.
Speaking to The Daily Sun, Andile's mother, Phindile Gumbi, explained that the minor had been taken from her care by Andile's wife, Hlengiwe Ngcongo, on Friday prior to the incident.
She went on to say that she received a frantic call from Hlengiwe in the early hours of the morning, claiming that the child was carrying the boyfriend's bag when he dropped it and the gun inside "went off."
Speaking to Channel24 Captain Mavela Masondo, Gauteng police spokesperson, confirmed that on Sunday at approximately 22:50, a 35-year-old man was with the boy and his mother when he left his firearm in a bag, placed it on the TV cabinet and went outside to his vehicle.
"He heard a gunshot going off inside the house. It is then that they realised that the boy allegedly shot himself in the lower body when he was handling the firearm that he took out of the bag."
Police have opened a case of failure to safeguard a firearm, and negligent handling of a firearm against the owner of the firearm after a four-year-old boy allegedly shot himself in the lower body.
The boy was taken to hospital where he is recovering.
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Compiled by Graye Morkel
