Boy arrested for stealing dad’s rifle

A 16-YEAR-OLD from Limassol was yesterday arrested for using his father’s hunting rifle, just a day after police stopped a 13-year-old girl for speeding through a red light in her father’s car.

The second incident of youth delinquency came after a 16-year-old lost his cool during an argument with his friends just before midnight on Monday night in the Ayios Spiridonas area in Limassol.

After a verbal spat, the youth went back into his house and loaded his father’s weapon. He then came out into the street and began threatening his friends by firing warning shots into the air, leading neighbours to notify the authorities. His friends managed to flee the scene and nobody was hurt.

According to Limassol Police Chief Tasos Economides, the father should be held responsible for the incident.

“The gun is owned by the boy’s father, who has himself also been charged as he neglected to take the necessary measures that the law calls for regarding keeping weapons securely,” he told reporters yesterday.

The 16-year-old has also been charged for being in possession and illegally using the weapon.

This was the second incident in the space of a day where a minor’s father will go to court over the action of their children.

The father of the 13-year-old girl caught driving dangerously, recklessly and with no headlights on in the early hours of Monday morning will face court for failing to prevent his car from being driven by his daughter.

According to Economides, the issue of youth delinquency was beginning to become extremely worrying for the police that were having to deal with an increasing number of such cases.

“The lack of control and poor up-bringing in the cases of many children has led us to this situation we find ourselves in,” he added.
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