Controls plea after toddler shot
Rashid Rullah remains critically ill in hospital
Campaigners have called for legislation to make airgun owners liable for their weapons' misuse after an 18-month-old boy was shot in the garden of his home.
Rashid Rullah remains in a critical condition after being accidentally shot by his five-year-old sister at Washwood Heath, Birmingham, on Sunday.
Their grandfather said the father was using an airgun for target practice and turned his back to answer the phone.
The Gun Control Network (GCN) said such incidents were preventable.
'Terrible consequences'
It could be days before surgeons operate on the toddler, after what police have said appeared to be a "tragic accident".
The boy's grandfather, Bakht Rammand, told the BBC doctors were waiting for swelling to go down before performing surgery.
GCN, which campaigns for tighter controls on guns of all kinds, called for legislation to register airguns, and make their owners liable for the misuse of their weapons.
It said in a statement: "The tragic shooting of the toddler Rashid Rullah highlights once again the terrible consequences of the 'boys' toys' culture surrounding airgun ownership.
"This culture results in easy access, casual regard and non-accountability.
"Because airguns are not treated as 'real' weapons they are not thought worthy of registration or regulation."
Airguns and their owners could be registered, and they should be
Andrew Picken, father of shooting victim
The GCN said airguns were responsible for about half of all firearms offences, and more than a quarter of all serious firearms injuries.
The organisation said that children have picked up air weapons left lying around and the result has been that other children, often siblings or friends, have been killed, blinded or injured.
"The adults who own these guns are rarely held to account," the GCN said.
"There is no law requiring them to store their weapons safely, nor is there any record of ownership."
Rashid was treated by an ambulance crew at the family home in Bennetts Road before being taken to hospital.
His father, Bakht Zaman, 29, had turned his back on the children at the terraced house to answer his mobile shortly before 1900 BST, Bakht Rammand said.
He said on Monday: "Rashid's sister is really active and she got hold of the gun and pointed it at her brother.
"He was on the high ground and she was on the low ground. It hit him right in the middle of the back of his head."
Mr Rammand said the boy's mother, Fazilat Zaman, 25, was at his grandson's bedside.
The father of 12-year-old Mitchel Picken, who was killed in 2006 as his friends played with an air weapon, also joined the call for stronger controls.
Mitchel died after being shot in the eye in Stockton Brook, Staffordshire. Another boy was later cleared of his manslaughter.
Mitchel's father, Andrew Picken, said: "The government cannot hide behind recent changes in legislation, which failed to take the airgun problem seriously enough and make owners responsible for storing their weapons safely.
"Airguns and their owners could be registered, and they should be.
I wasn't there...the supervisors are 17-19 and have a buttload of kids to mind. 