A nine-year-old lad has died after he accidentally shot himself while handling his policeman dad’s gun.

Grieving relatives say tragic Nicollas Brito Santana found his dad’s service weapon on top of a wardrobe at the family home in the Brazilian municipality of Mascote.

While handling the firearm, he accidentally shot himself on 21st March.

He was taken by ambulance to Manoel Novaes Hospital in nearby Itabuna, but medics could only pronounce the schoolboy dead on arrival.

The victim’s father is a second lieutenant in the Bahia State Military Police (PMBA).

He and others will be summoned to testify by the Civil Police, which is investigating the case.

The Military Police is Brazil’s preventive police force, while the Civil Police is the country’s investigative police force.

The Civil Police has registered the case as ‘accidental death’.

It is believed the victim’s father kept his service weapon on top of the wardrobe to hide it, but it was apparently loaded when the victim found it.

The PMBA said in a statement: “The PMBA deeply regrets the incident and is providing all necessary assistance to the police officer and his family.”