Teenager shot dead in Defence, Karachi

Hamza's schoolmate had been harassing his girlfriend.

KARACHI: Hamza Ahmed, 16, was allegedly shot dead by his schoolmate’s guard in the upscale Defence area of Karachi on Saturday, apparently over a scuffle involving his girlfriend.

Hamza, son of garment factory owner Talib Sohail Ahmed, went to the Khayaban-e-Sehar area to meet his schoolmate Shoaib to resolve the matter. Initial details suggest that Shoaib had been harassing Hamza's girlfriend.

The meeting between the two reportedly turned into a fight, over which Shoaib's guard opened fire and shot Hamza four times. Hamza died on the spot.

Shoaib and his guard, identified as Aman, fled the scene. The police are trying to trace the cell phones of the two.

The mobile phones of Hamza and the girl have also been confiscated for further investigations.

Hamza's family said that they know the killers but have not registered a case of the murder yet.

In a similar case, 20-year-old Shahzeb Khan, son of a police officer, was shot dead in his car in December last year in the Defence area. The incident caused uproar across the country, after which the chief justice took suo motu of the incident.

Shahrukh Jatoi, son of an influential businessman, along with his friends and a house worker, is being tried for murder in the case.

Soon after the incident, #JusticeForHamza started trending in Karachi on Twitter.

Following are some of the top tweets:

Why did that guard obey the orders of Shoaib & killed an innocent boy? This is what happens when state loses its authority. #JusticeForHamza

— Hassan Raza (@HRazaPK) April 27, 2013

17yr old shot dead:dead are dreams of his parents,aspirations & dead are values of those who commit such crimes! #JusticeforHamza #Pakistan

— Anam Saeed (@MissAnamSaeed) April 27, 2013

Pakistan must be free from the british but the colonial mindser is still here. #JusticeForHamza

— BK (@BilawalKhoso) April 27, 2013

Shahrukh Jatoi became a mindset for teenagers today, this is the greatest weapon of mass destrcution available #JusticeforHamza

— Daniyal Adhami (@adhami_D) April 27, 2013

Correction: An earlier version of the article mistakenly reported that Hamza was a student at Washington International School. The error is regretted.
[embed width= "625] http://vimeo.com/65132531 [/embed]