Five dead, two wounded in Quetta shooting

QUETTA: At least five people, including a Hindu vendor and a teenage boy, were killed while two others were critically wounded when unknown armed assailants opened fire at multiple shops on Usman Road in Balochi Street of Quetta on Wednesday evening.

According to an official of Gawalmandi police station, masked men on motorbikes opened fire at a barber shop, a tailor shop, and a Hindu vendor in downtown Quetta.

“The attackers barged into the shops and opened fire from very close range,” said Ghulam Yassen, a barber who sustained leg injuries. “They went to other shops and opened fire.”

Police said the investigation has begun and it could be a case targeting settlers of ethnicities other than Baloch in the province.

Excluding a Hindu vendor, all victims are said to be settlers—those who’ve settled in Quetta from other provinces.

According to eyewitness accounts, the attackers tried to kill other shopkeepers too but since they immediately drew their shutters, they remained safe.

While four people died on the spot, three others were wounded. The attackers managed to flee from the scene after the attack.

Rescue workers and people in the area transported the bodies and injured to Provincial Sandeman Hospital.

“Four dead bodies and three injured were brought to the hospital,” said Mohammed Jaffar, the Medico Legal Officer (MLO) at Provincial Sandeman Hospital, Quetta told reporters. “The victims were shot in head. One injured succumbed to his injures at hospital while another is in a critical condition.”

All the victims were in their early 30s.

The dead were identified Sunil Jani (the Hindu vendor), Khalid Bila, Irfan, 14-year-old Shakir and Naveed Qureshi.

Police have started a search operation in the area to trace the culprits, and no one has claimed responsibility for the attack till the filing of this report.

SHO Suspended

Capital City Police Officer Quetta Abdul Razzaq Cheema has suspended the SHO Gawalmandi Nasirul Hassan and sought explanation from DSP Syed Tanveer Shah regarding the targeted killings.

Tribal elder killed in Khuzdar

Meanwhile, unidentified gun men shot dead a tribal elder, Malik Qasim in Ornach area of Khuzdar district of Balochistan.

The assailants managed to flee the scene soon after the shooting, and the motive behind the incident is yet to be learnt.