A 13-year-old boy accidentally killed his 10-year-old sister with an air rifle on New Year’s day.

The girl was rushed to hospital at the Hospital General in Elche, before being transferred to the Hospital General in Alicante, where she was put into a drug-induced coma so that doctors could treat the wound.

A group of children had been playing in a country cottage in Altabix, Elche. The elder brother was holding the gun when it went off by accident. Owing to the very short distance involved, the ball bearing had gone through her eye and lodged in her brain. The attempts to save her life were in vain and she died of her injuries.

The boy, because of his age, will not face any charges, but the provincial Sub-Delegate for the Government, Alberto Martínez, said that “perhaps” the guilty party is the person who left the weapon were it could be used by the children.

The mourning parents authorized for her organs to be donated before burial, which was held on the 4th at the San Vicente Ferrer Church in Elche.

(News: Elche, Alicante, Valencia)