AL-AHSA: An Egyptian teacher was beaten and shot in the foot here recently, according to a report in a local publication.

Abdulmajeed Ali Alsakakri, 38, who works at a private school in Al-Ahsa, claimed he was beaten by two people and then shot. He is undergoing treatment at Al-Ahsa Hospital in Hofuf.

A colleague of the victim was quoted as saying that Alsakakri said he had stepped off a bus close to his home to buy goods from a local store when the incident occurred.

He claimed that two people approached him. He tried to run away but they caught him outside a restaurant in the neighborhood of Mazroieyah where he lives, hit him with a sharp instrument and then shot him. One of the assailants was wearing a mask and dark sunglasses, the colleague said.

The two offenders were driving in two vehicles without plate numbers. He had reported the matter to the police, his colleague said.

Col. Ziad Al-Ruqaiti, spokesman of the Eastern Province police, said the incident took place at 11:30 a.m. on Monday. He said there was a fight between the teacher and his assailants. One took out a gun and shot him in the foot. The man was currently in hospital in a stable condition. A search has been launched for the assailants, he said.