A child accidentally killed himself with a gun he found at home

* Cartoon by Mahmut Akgün - Umut (Hope) Foundation Individual Disarmament Cartoon Contest, Honorable Mention

Click to read the article in Turkish

A 13-year-old child who allegedly shot himself with a gun by accident has lost his life in Baskil district in Turkey's eastern province of Elazığ.

Beytullah Sakin (13), the son of Hacı Mustafa village head Abidin Sakin, was wounded after he was hit by a bullet fired from his father's gun. Finding their son lying on the floor, the family called the gendarmerie. The paramedic team that came to the scene of the incident took the child to the Fırat University Hospital. However, he has lost his life despite all efforts.

Gun sales have increased across the world

Making efforts for wide-scale personal disarmament in Turkey, Umut (Hope) Foundation has released a statement and indicated that gun sales have increased throughout the world, according to the annual report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which specifically focuses on the data of 25 arms producing companies.

According to the report announced in Stockholm, the year 2019 saw an increase of 8.5 percent in global sales of guns. The report has also shown that the total turnover of 25 companies was 361 billion dollars.

The Umut (Hope) Foundation has long been warning that the firearms left within the reach of children lead to irrecoverable sorrows, causing them to kill themselves or their siblings and friends by accident.

Among the solutions offered by the foundation is to ensure that "Training Programs" are introduced so that both students and parents can have a better understanding of what it means to possess a gun, what responsibilities they have in such a case and what consequences it might lead to. (AÖ/SD)