THE gun that was allegedly used by a Limpopo man to shoot dead his son-in-law has come under heavy scrutiny as police want to establish its origins and whether it has not been used in other crimes.

The 9mm pistol, which was confiscated from the man when he handed himself over to the Lebowakgomo police on Monday, has been taken in for ballistics tests.

Police said yesterday that they wanted to establish the origin of the gun.

Lebowakgomo police spokesman Captain Mamphaswa Seabi said yesterday they were still investigating the firearm before the "owner" could appear in court.

"We want to first satisfy ourselves with our investigations into the firearm before we can take the suspect to court," said Seabi.

He said the 61-year-old man would remain in the police holding cells until they had completed their investigations.

"The idea is to make sure that we do not leave any stone unturned in determining how the firearm was accessed by the suspect, including whether it was not used in other crimes in the past," Seabi said.

The man shot dead his 42-year-old son-in-law in Lebowakgomo's Unit S on Monday night. The victim was allegedly refusing to release his children to go to their mother.

The man was separated from his wife and she went to live with her parents in another section of the township.

The children, aged four and six, initially left with their mother but returned to their father after claiming they were being abused by their grandparents.

The woman then allegedly told her father about her children's refusal to return home on Monday. The father then took the firearm and accompanied his daughter to go collect the children.

He found them seated with their father and confronted the man, asking him why he would not let the children go "home".

But before the man could respond the father allegedly shot him three times, leaving him dead before he disappeared.