Teenager who shot himself after quarrel with worker dies

A teenager who shot himself with his father's gun on Tuesday died in hospital hours later.

The Aga Khan High School student died in the intensive care unit of the Nairobi Hospital.

Reports say he shot himself in the head at their house in Lavington, Nairobi, after a domestic worker barred him from using the family car.

The teenager is the son of Maj (rtd) Michael Kariuki, the head of security at Safaricom.

Dagoretti police boss Rashid Mohamed said officers who visited the scene said he was in bad shape.

"Doctors declared him dead at about 3pm on Wednesday," said Mr Mohamed.

Police said Mr Kariuki, a licensed gun owner, was away with his wife at the time of the incident.

It is not clear how the teenager accessed the weapon, which witnesses said was stored in a safe in his parents' bedroom.

His brother, who was in the house, heard a gunshot from the deceased's bedroom and on checking, found him bleeding.

Police said a Ceska pistol and 11 bullets were taken away from the house and police are waiting for the parents to arrive for questioning.

This is the latest incident involving legally-issued weapons. Police said such weapons are supposed to be surrendered to authorities whenever the owners travel.

"Unless the owner is sure of his safe, he or she should surrender the weapon for custody whenever they travel out of the country," said an officer aware of the matter.