A 56-year-old bank security guard shot and killed himself after he accidentally shot at his son while cleaning his licensed gun at Angamaly in Ernakulam district on Sunday.
KP Mathew Kavungal, a security guard with Federal Bank, killed himself thinking that he had grievously injured his son Manu, 21. But Manu had escaped with a minor injury to his scalp. He is recovering in the hospital with just seven stiches.
Angamaly Sub Inspector CP Happy told The News Minute that the incident happened around 9am on Sunday.
“Mathew was cleaning his double barrel gun. When the gun shot went off, Manu was watching TV. Since the gun shot had injured Manu on his scalp, he was severely bleeding. Seeing this Mathew thought his son was fatally injured. After the neighbours rushed Manu to hospital, Mathew locked inside the room and shot himself,” the police officer said.
Police said that Mathew might have accidentally triggered the gun with his toe. Later, he killed himself by shooting himself below his neck.
Mathew is survived by the son, one daughter and a wife, who is a daily wage labourer.
In June 2015, a Kannur district bank employee was shot dead after a security guard’s gun fired accidentally.
In September, a scuffle between a Kothamangalam resident and some miscreants in Cherai beach in Kochi resulted in the accidental discharge of the former's revolver.