Gunmen kill two firefighters, injure another

Eyewitness says armed men asked staffers to recite Kalima before fatally shooting them

KARACHI:

Armed men barged into a fire brigade office in Korangi on Saturday and opened fire, killing two staff members, injuring one while a third escaped unhurt.

According to eyewitness, on the night between Friday and Saturday, gunmen walked into the fire brigade office located at Bilal Chowrangi, in Korangi Industrial area, and shot Amir, 55, and Mehboob, 40 dead. Another staffer 30-year-old Irshad sustained bullet injuries.

"Two gunmen walked in and threatened me at gunpoint to stand next to the telephone operator in the control room and inquired about other employees," Zeeshan, one of the eyewitnesses, told The Express Tribune.

"On their query, I told the gunmen that the employees were sleeping in the backside of the office. On this one of them went there and returned to tell his accomplices that he didn't find anyone there. The first gunmen then went to check by himself and found two employees sleeping in the verandah and brought them to the control room," Zeshan said.

"The gunmen then put the handgun on the head of Mehboob and asked him to recite Kalima," Zeeshan recalled. "He pulled the trigger, but the bullet got stuck in the chamber."

The gunmen pulled the trigger again and the bullet pierced into his head, killing him on the spot, he added. In the meanwhile, Amir and Irshad scuffled with the gunmen in an attempt to overpower them, while Zeeshan took advantage of the situation and escaped.

Zeeshan hid himself in a workshop adjacent to the office. He came out as soon as police and Rangers reached.

Other staffers, who were sleeping in a room at the back of the office, said that they did not hear any gunshots.

Irshad, who was injured, reached a nearby petrol pump and informed the employees there about the incident who immediately reported it to the police.

Police and rescuers reached the spot and shifted the victims to Jinnah Hospital.

Fire Officer Zafar Khan said that the two victims had been associated with the fire department for a long time.

CCTV cameras are installed on a mosque adjacent to the fire brigade office, but the cameras have been out of order for a long time.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 2^nd, 2022.