The second shooting incident in Jeddah within a week, which claimed the life of another young police officer, has baffled investigators. Ahmad Rajeh Al-Asafi, 30, was shot and killed Friday afternoon while questioning two men whose car he had stopped on Macarona Street. According to a report published in Al-Madinah newspaper, Al-Asafi was questioning the driver of the car when one of the passengers walked up to him, pulled out a gun and shot him in the head, killing him instantly. The men then made their escape. When police arrived, they found the officer lying in a pool of blood. According to eyewitnesses, the police officer was pronounced dead at the scene before the ambulance arrived. The body was transported to King Fahd Hospital. Eyewitnesses said that there were three passengers inside the car. âThey fired at the police officer because they were afraid they might get arrested,â one man told Arab News.
| Golly. Y'think? Now, if they're crooks, they'll get killed themselves. Or if they're terrs, they'll get a good talking-to by their imam, and you know how that hurts. |
Jeddah police chief Saleh Al-Olayan, who is supervising the investigation, told Al-Madinah: âWe have collected enough evidence from the scene to allow us to begin our investigation. We will not rest until the men who committed this terrible crime are found.â Police investigators at the scene retrieved the Saudi identification cards of the suspects from the dead police officerâs car as well as a can of soda believed to belong to one of the suspects.
| Well, their ID cards would certainly seem to be the place to start... |
In a similar incident in Jeddahâs Al-Bawadi district on Monday another police officer was killed. In that incident, a plainclothes officer was questioning a suspect outside a small cafeteria when a second man walked up and shot the policeman in the chest and shoulders killing him instantly. Both suspects managed to escape. Police would not comment on whether the incidents are related.
| My guess would be that they are... |
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