FREE STATE. — A 13-year-old boy was arrested in Thabong on Saturday afternoon after allegedly being found in possession of a Norinco pistol and seven rounds of live ammunition.
Sergeant Palesa Thabana, police spokesperson, said officers from the Welkom public order policing unit received information at around 17:00 about a person suspected of being in possession of a firearm. Police went to an address in Thabong where they allegedly saw the suspect jump over a fence. He was apprehended after a chase in a nearby open field.
A search revealed the firearm and ammunition. It was later established that the suspect is 13 years old and that the firearm allegedly belonged to his grandfather. Preliminary investigations showed that the safe in which the firearm was stored had been forced open to gain access to it.
The boy was arrested on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition. A probation officer released the boy into the custody of his parents after the necessary documentation was processed. He is expected to appear later in the Welkom magistrate's court.
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
