A view of a neighborhood in Tripoli. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — A seven-month-old baby was killed, and his 12-year-old brother was wounded, by a hunting rifle that other children were "playing with" on Tuesday, according to a statement released by the children's family on Tuesday evening.
The incident took place in Shalfa area, in the Abi Samra district in Tripoli, North Lebanon, L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the north reported.
The infant "was killed while the children were playing with a 12-gauge hunting rifle" according to a statement from the family, which adds that the children who were playing with the rifle are eight and six years old.
"The victim child, Omar Omar al-Araj (seven months old), was buried, while his injured brother remains in Al-Shifa Hospital, [in] Abu Samra [Tripoli]," the statement continues.
The infant reportedly died immediately, while his brother was shot in the hand, according to our correspondent.
The competent security services have launched an investigation into the incident, a security source said.
Firearms remain widely available and unregulated in Lebanon. Between 2010 and 2021, stray bullets caused on average seven deaths and 15 injuries a year, according to Beirut-based research center Information International.
Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak