An eight-year-old boy fatally shot his brother during a struggle over their father’s gun.

According to the police, the suspect pulled the trigger of the single barrel gun he didn’t know was loaded.

The incident happened Saturday, at a rural home at Manso/Datano in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region in Ghana.

Emmanuel Akpah and his deceased brother, Sylvester Akpah, 7, were both caring for their three-year-old sister at home, after their parents left for the farm at about 07:30am, the police told Dailymailgh.com.

Sylvester, who together with his siblings were playing in their parents room, suddenly removed his father’s locally manufactured single barrel gun which was hidden behind a settee and placed it in a compartment of a bed.

“The two male children then started to struggle over the gun. In the process Emmanuel Akpah accidentally pressed the trigger and the gun fired and landed at the chin of Sylvester Akpah killing him instantly,” the police indicated.

Police said the three children lived at the home. The father, James Amedzi who is a cocoa farmer is currently being held for interrogation. The police has since taken statement from Emmanuel Akpah.

At the time of filing this report, the lifeless body of the deceased had been deposited at the St. Martin’s Hospital at Manso/Agroyesum for preservation.

There is a high incidence of fatal gunshot wounds in children, especially in rural Ghana.

Experts believe gun ownership rules in Ghana must be strengthened and safe storage laws must be enacted and enforced, especially in the rural areas.