The injured boy was taken to hospital. Obaid Al-Khammash, director of Asir police, urged people to keep their guns away from their children. He added that police have launched an investigation into the incident.
In 2009, the Kingdom began handing licenses to businessmen to open private gun shops; the licenses were issued to limit the number of unlicensed guns in the Kingdom. According to the Kingdom’s gun laws, if a gun is used negligently, then the owner risks being fined SR5,000, or a year in jail, or both.
Gun owners are required to be over 21, not have a criminal record and mentally sound. Owners of gun shops should be a minimum 25 years old and have SR500,000 in capital. The sale or purchase of an unlicensed firearm can result in two years in jail, or a SR7,000 fine, or both. Anyone caught in possession of a licensed firearm in public, or at a place where guns are prohibited, risks being fined SR1,000.
Although there are no exact figures about how many Saudi citizens own guns, Asharq Al-Awsat said that according to police 1,091 Saudis owned guns in 2009.
