Father weeps as he’s charged to court for mistakenly shooting his son dead (Photos/Video)

A South African man accused of killing his 16-year-old son outside a school in southern Johannesburg was pictured weeping as he appeared in court on a charge of murder.

The father, 50, accidentally shot and killed his son outside Fred Norman Secondary School in Ennerdaleafter mistaking him for a hijacker on Tuesday night.

According to Soweto West cluster spokesperson Captain Mpande Khoza, he said the 50-year-old claimed he had fallen asleep in his locked car after dropping his son off at a study group outside the school.

“The boy came back and knocked on the passenger window of his father’s vehicle.

“The father, who was asleep in the car with his firearm on him, got scared … and pulled out his firearm and shot towards the direction of the person who was knocking. He then realised that it was his son after he had fired the shot.”

According to Khoza, when the father realised what had happened, he rushed to the nearest hospital, but was too late, as the child died along the way.

But in a different version to the sad story,  some pupils at the school told school officials that they witnessed an altercation between the father and son before the incident took place, according to Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona.

“According to information at our disposal, there are learners who witnessed some incident [between father and son during the day] and went back to class to call educators,” he told The Star.

During a court hearing at the Lenasia Magistrates Court this afternoon, the man was pictured weeping and had to be comforted by his wife who also broke down in tears.

Watch the video below.

#EnnerdaleSchoolMurder: The mother of the murdered son is also here. The father broke down and she comforted him. @ReporterStar pic.twitter.com/IgSHOFinbx

— Chulumanco Mahamba (@Chulu_M) June 7, 2018