Two Chinese injured in shooting at Karachi mill

Police say security guard opened fire inside a textile mill

KARACHI:

A private security company guard posted at a textile mill in Karachi opened fire and seriously injured two Chinese nationals following a quarrel on Tuesday morning, according to a senior city police officer as well as the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Karachi South Asad Raza told reporters that the incident occurred at a textile mill located in the SITE area of the city. He added that the injured had been shifted to a private hospital where one of the injured was said to be in critical condition.

In a statement, the Foreign Office confirmed the injured were Chinese nationals. "This morning, two Chinese nationals were injured in Karachi as a result of a firing incident following a dispute with a private guard. The injured were immediately taken to hospital and are under treatment," it stated.

Police have detained four supervisors and guards from the textile mill and initiated an investigation. They said the shooter, who escaped after the incident, had been identified as Sharif, a resident of Bhawani Chali. The attacker originally hails from Chaman in Balochistan, it was learnt.

Soon after the incident, Additional IG Karachi Javed Alam Odho, DIG South Asad Raza, the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Keamari, and teams of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), the Sindh Rangers and other law enforcement agencies arrived at the scene.

"The foreign nationals, working at private textile mills, had been brought to the SITE area from Defence Housing Society under the supervision of the Sindh Protection Unit [SPU] and Sindh Rangers," DIG Raza told reporters.