Firearm accidentally discharged during security lecture

A police officer accidentally fired a shot on Thursday as he tried to demonstrate a handgun at a kindergarten in Zhengzhou, Henan province, slightly injuring four adults and one child.

The incident drew wide public attention immediately after the news was posted online, with many questioning why the police officers were demonstrating a dangerous weapon, especially a loaded one, to such young children at a lecture meant to promote awareness of security.

The two policemen involved in the accident have been "confined" as a punishment, and three of their superiors, including a deputy director of the police station were suspended from their duties, police said.

On Thursday morning, two police officers were invited to the Haiwen Experimental Kindergarten to lecture the children on security awareness, according to a post by Zhengdong Police Station on its official Weibo account.

"During a display of equipment, a pistol was fired by accident and the bullet hit the ground. Fragments of cement scratched the limbs of one child and four parents," said the statement.

The incident happened when the officers were trying to wrap up their visit, Nandu Daily reported. To satisfy the children's curiosity, an officer whose job includes patrolling this area meant to check the gun before showing it to the kids, but instead accidentally discharged the weapon, the report said.

The injured were soon sent to hospital and the injures were all slight scratches and not life threatening, the local authority noted.

Two hours later, the station released another post on its Weibo account, making an apology to the injured, their relatives and the public for the fault.

Further penalties on the police officers will be imposed later in accordance to the investigation, it said.

"It's rather absurd for the policemen to explain weapons or display guns in front of preschool kids. Security education should be age appropriate," commented Pi Yijun, a juvenile justice expert at the China University of Political Science and Law.

Kids need to know how to deal with strangers or assailants and how to hide in classrooms in an emergency, he told the Global Times.

The case also reveals the policeman didn't know how to handle his weapon, a common defect for many Chinese police, he noted.

Police officers in many cities only began to carry guns during their patrols since a nationwide anti-terrorism campaign was initiated recently.

Henan Business Daily reported earlier that the gunfire occurred at around 10 am while the kindergarten kids were performing to celebrate the coming Children's Day. But a woman living nearby told the Global Times that the performance was just a rehearsal.

The kindergarten's website was not accessible on Thursday and the school did not respond to media inquiries.