Rashid Rullah remains in a critical condition in hospital after what police described as a "tragic accident" in Birmingham on Sunday.

Yesterday, Rashid's family said in a brief statement: "We hope that anyone who has an air weapon realises how dangerous these guns can be and what serious injuries they can cause."

The boy's grandfather said previously that Rashid was accidentally shot by his five-year-old sister as they played in the garden of their family home.

The exact circumstances are still being investigated. After the incident, campaigners called for tighter controls on airguns.

Andrew Picken, the father of 12-year-old Mitchel Picken, who died in 2006 as his friends played with an air weapon, 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 weapons safely."