Two Nairobi Teenagers Die By Suicide Using Fathers’ Guns

Two families in Nairobi are in mourning after their sons used their fathers’ guns to take their own lives.

The first incident was reported in Gigiri, where a 19-year-old boy shot himself in the head on Friday evening.

The son of businessman Robert Kiriago is said to have accessed his father’s gun and locked himself in his father’s bedroom.

Kiriago, who is a licensed gun holder, and other members of the family were away at the time of the incident.

Neighbours who heard a gunshot alerted police who broke into the room and found the teenager’s body in a pool of blood.

Police said the boy shot himself in the head from the left side even though he was right-handed.

The officers also recovered the pistol for tests and analysis as they investigate the incident and seek to establish the motive of the incident.

The second incident was reported in Ruai, where the 13-year-old son of North Eastern deputy police chief Patrick Macharia shot himself using his father’s pistol.

The incident happened Sunday, October 2, as the deputy police boss was preparing to leave for work. Macharia is said to have left his Jericho pistol on the table as he went to relieve himself.

The boy reportedly picked the gun from the table and locked himself in his bedroom. When his father came back, he found the pistol missing and asked his wife where it was.

Macharia told police that he learnt his son had taken the gun and it was then that he heard a gunshot from the boy’s bedroom.

The officer broke into the room and found his son’s body found lying on the bed. He had shot himself on the left side of the head with the bullet exiting from the right side.

Detectives who visited the scene recovered the gun with 29 rounds of ammunition and one spent cartridge.

Investigations are ongoing.