By SYLVIA MWEETWA-
A TRIGGER happy man on Sunday caused panic at a funeral house when a firearm he had put in his pocket after firing casually in the air accidentally  went off, shooting and wounding his 14-year-old daughter and nephew in Mumbwa.
The man of Lusaka’s Kanyama township, identified as Allan Ngwenya, 52, is alleged to have fired in the air at the funeral house before putting his pistol, an Austria, serial number VAK 951, which had eight rounds of ammunition in his pocket without securing it.
Deputy Central province Police chief, Edwin Bwanga, who confirmed the shooting yesterday, said the two were shot by one bullet and that the incident happened at Mwandama village at around 11:00 hours on Sunday.
Mr Bwanga identified the two victims as Rabecca Ngwenya and Joseph Shebeleki (nephew) and that both sustained gunshot wounds on their left thighs.
They are admitted toMumbwa district hospital.
He said that police were investigating the matter to ascertain what exactly happened.
Mr Bwanga said the accused would be charged with two counts of unlawful wounding once investigations are concluded.
He said the suspect had earlier fired in the air but police were trying to establish if that was part of celebrating the life of the deceased.
“I can confirm that we are seriously investigating a case of shooting in Mumbwa where two juveniles were accidentally shot and wounded after a gun went off and we would like to get to the bottom of the matter,” he said.
He said it was sad that because of Mr Ngwenya’s failure to secure the firearms, two juveniles were injured and appealed to the public to exercise caution when handling firearms to avoid loss of lives or injuries.