Two-year-old shot with pellet gun

The pellet hit Paul Barr, 2, in the forehead

A two-year-old boy is recovering after being shot in the head with a pellet gun in west Belfast.

Paul Barr was hit in the forehead by a pellet as he played outside his home in McDonald Street in the Grosvenor Road area at about 1945 BST on Sunday.

His mother, Antonette, said a number of people on the estate had been hit by pellets, and that the sale of such weapons should be outlawed.

"The surgeon said it could have been in his eye if it was any lower," she said.

"He was very lucky."

He was treated in hospital, but has since been allowed home.

Sinn Fein's Fra McCann condemned the incident

Ms Barr said medical staff had told her the toddler was shot at close range and that they had to remove the pellet from his head with a pair of tweezers.

Sinn Fein's Fra McCann said that the age group buying such weapons range from five to 10 years.

"It is actually the third such incident that has taken place over the past week, there has been two other people that have been injured," he said.

A police spokeswoman said officers were appealing for anyone with information about who was responsible for the shooting to contact them.

"Police would urge anyone who owns a pellet gun to keep it in a safe place and out of children's reach as such guns can inflict serious injury," she said.