By Septimus Senessie in Kono
A 12-year-old boy, Amadu Barrie has allegedly shot and seriously wounded his 10-year-old sister, Mabinty Barrie and one Issah Fofana, 9, with a pistol belonging to one Solomon Fillie at 51 Yardu Road in Koidu Town.
Mabinty’s case was very severe with her left arm badly wounded by the bullets and was transferred to the Emergency Hospital in Freetown, while Issah Fofana was discharged on the following day from the Koidu government hospital.
The alleged owner of the gun has since gone into hiding but his wife, Bintu Jabbie, has been arrested and is now in police custody at the Tankoro Division. Police say they also searched the house and discovered 28 live bullets in a plastic bag believed to have been kept there by Fillie.
In between sobs on his sick bed at the Government hospital in Koidu, Amadu told Politico that it was around 8:00 am when one of their peers, Tamba Fillie, 10, took out his father’s pistol from their bedroom in his absence and took it to where they had gone to forage for mangoes.
He said when he saw the pistol he took it from Tamba and put his finger on the trigger to know whether it was an actual pistol.
“It surprisingly went off and fired some shots and my sister and Issah dropped on the ground and blood started oozing out of their wounds.”
Bintu Jabbie, the wife of Tamba Fillie, told Politico that her husband hadn’t any pistol because he was an ordinary farmer who didn’t need one.
According to the police crime officer, Inspector Abdulai Kemokai, the son who brought out the pistol was briefly held but was later released because he was a minor, while his mother, Bintu, was helping the police with their investigations.
(C) Politico 01/05/14
