Dismissed employee: Three showroom owners killed by ex security guard

While fleeing, he threatened another attack soon.

LAHORE: Three owners of a showroom in Faisal Town were gunned down on Wednesday by a security guard they had recently fired.

The investigation officer for the case said Ghulam Abbas Shah, 40, a resident of Imamia Colony, had been working at the showroom for four years and was dismissed from his job a few days ago.

He had started working at a sweet shop near the showroom, he said. On Wednesday, the owners of the showroom, Adeel Sheikh, Waheed Awan and Malik Shafqat, called Shah to negotiate terms of his dismissal. Shah shot all three with a 0.222 calibre rifle, critically injuring them. They were taken to a hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.

Shabbir Ahmed, a resident of the area, said that Shah was not affiliated with any security firm.

Another resident of the area said that Shah had tried to kill other people at the showroom but a bullet had got stuck in his weapon and he had fled while hurling threats of a similar attack soon.

People in the area said that Sheikh had gotten married recently. They said Awan, too, was a young man.

The investigation officer said several police teams were looking for Shah.

Model Town SP Mustansir Feroze said the teams were conducting raids. “We are hopeful that Shah will be apprehended soon.”

Scores of people in the area held a protest demonstration against the murders and blocked Maulana Shaukat Ali Road for traffic. They burned tyres on the road and shouted slogans demanding prompt justice. Several of the protesters hurled stones at the sweetshop where Shah had recently started working as a security guard.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has taken notice of the murder and asked for an inquiry report from the police. He has directed them to arrest the culprit without delay.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 12^th, 2015.