A four-year-old boy in France has accidentally shot his father, seriously injuring his foot with a hunting rifle, police reported on Monday.
The incident took place on Sunday in Cournon d’Auvergne, a town in central France, during a hunting trip. The boy was in the car with his father, who had stopped to chat with fellow hunters when the accident occurred.
According to police, the child somehow fired one of the hunters’ rifles, hitting his father in the foot. Investigations are ongoing to determine the precise circumstances, but it has already been confirmed that not all safety rules were followed.
Dominique Busson, head of the local hunters’ association, explained that the hunters should have unloaded their weapons before gathering but failed to do so. As a result of the injury, the father’s foot had to be amputated.
The boy has been taken to a psychiatric ward for counselling. Meanwhile, police are investigating how the child ended up handling a loaded hunting rifle.