A FATHER ACCIDENTALLY shot and killed his 14-year-old son at a Florida gun range on Sunday, police say.

William Brumby, 64, was firing his handgun at a shooting range in Sarasota – an hour south of Tampa – when a hot spent shell casing deflected off a nearby wall and fell down the back of his shirt around 3.15pm local time.

“Brumby then used his right hand, which was holding the handgun, in an attempt to remove the casing,” the Sarasota County Sheriff’s office said in a statement.

“While doing so, he inadvertently pointed the firearm directly behind him and accidently fired.”

The bullet hit the ceiling before striking his son Stephen Brumby, who was standing directly behind him.

He was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.

Brumby’s 24-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter were also at the shooting range at the time. Neither was injured.

Police are investigating the incident, however, no charges have been filed against Brumby, the sheriff’s office said.

CNN quotes the father as taking blame for the incident.

“The gun didn’t kill my boy, I did.

Every round in the gun is your responsibility. When it fires you need to stand to account for it it. That’s what I’ve spent the last two days doing, accounting for my operating error.

“It was a very freak accident. I made a mistake. It doesn’t take but a split second for something to go wrong and that could be [the case] with a gun, it could be with the wrong medicine, it could be with any number of things.”

He added his son had been shooting for three years and “was a natural”. He said that he “could fix this”, but said “thankfully we’ll see him someday”.

The gun range, High Noon Guns says that it allows children aged 14 and younger to shoot for free as long as they are accompanied by an adult.

With AFP reporting

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