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A seven-year-old South African girl has shot dead her friend, aged six, with her grandfather's revolver while playing at a farm, police say. A murder case has been opened after the dead girl, a daughter of a farm worker, was shot in the face, reports say. The alleged killer's grandfather has been charged with failure to safeguard a firearm, police added. South Africa has tight gun ownership regulations but many people still possess firearms. 'Great shock' The debate over gun ownership in South Africa is highly emotive, and sometimes takes racial overtones in a country where divisions between black and white people still run deep, says BBC South Africa analyst Farouk Chothia. The pro-gun lobby argues that people should be well-armed because of high levels of crime, but critics say this merely escalates the violence. Police spokeswoman Ronel Otto told the BBC the alleged killer is in the care of her parents, while her 60-year-old grandfather has received bail of $50 (�30) after he was charged in court.