ABHA, 30 November — A policeman was shot dead by a man trying to run away from police in the town of Rijal Alma in the southern Province of Asir recently. The fleeing man was subsequently overpowered and taken into custody by a police team.
The man, who was described by local residents as a dangerous bully, had earlier in the evening quarreled with the workers of a motor workshop in the town and threatened to shoot at passers by if they interfered in the dispute. But on seeing a police patrol coming that way, the man fled the scene and hid behind some nearby buildings. The police surrounded the area and commanded him to surrender. The man started shooting randomly. With the arrival of reinforcements, police made a move to close in on the. One of his bullets pierced the chest of Sgt. Muhammad Hasan, who fell down dead.
Shocked by the outrage, an other policemen rushed forward and subdued the man after a fist fight.
People in the area said the man was a bully who used to beat up people on the slightest provocation.
A blood sample of the arrested man has been taken to ascertain whether he was drunk at the time of the incident.
The dead officer is survived by his wife and five children.
Meanwhile, Makkah police have arrested three men who were reportedly involved in setting to a car with a man and a woman inside it at an isolated location last month. The car and the charred bodies inside it were discovered by the passers by.
