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Jobless jailed for shooting at kin

An Emirati jobless man was sentenced to six months in jail on Thursday by the Court of First Instance for putting others’ lives in risk by shooting with his firearm in the direction of a compatriot’s head from a very close range, allegedly trying to kill him.

The 25-year-old defendant was sentenced to additional two months in jail for possessing two guns and ammunitions (133 bullets) without a licence.

His lawyer Saeed Al Guilani earlier argued in court that his client did not attempt to kill his relative with a shotgun, dismissing any criminal intention to kill on the part of the defendant.

Al Guilani argued that the incident was a mere joke gone wrong. He stressed the defendant and the complainant were relatives and requested that the murder attempt charge be modified.

The defendant earlier pleaded not guilty to the murder attempt charge but admitted that he possessed two guns and ammunitions without a licence.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge of putting intentionally the lives of two compatriots at risk when he shot from his gun.

Al Guilani said that the gun went off accidentally that day when the victim held the barrel.

The lawyer added that the victim’s parents had dropped the charges. The first complainant, a 21-year-old Emirati student, told the prosecutor that the incident happened on a day in January at a time when he and his friends were playing playstation at his house. The defendant came and joined them and he was apparently under the influence of liquor.

In his statement, the complainant alleged that the defendant began screaming and provoking the others in the room. He was not conscious of what he was doing.

The complainant made the defendant leave the room, which he locked, to avoid any major problem. About half an hour later, he heard continuous knocking on the door and he opened it partially and saw the defendant holding a gun. The latter pushed the door trying to enter but the complainant did not let him in. He pointed the barrel of the gun he was holding to the head of the complainant who pushed it higher to avert being shot.

The gun went off and the bullet hit a closet and the student was injured in his head because of the flying shrapnel. The defendant fled the scene.

The Public Prosecution charged the defendant with premeditated attempt to murder.

The prosecution believes the defendant held a grudge against the complainant for kicking him out of the room. So he went to his car and brought his firearm. Then he went back to the complainant’s room to kill him in revenge.

Another Emirati man, a 34-year-old jobless, was slightly injured by a shrapnel in his head and front.

mary@khaleejtimes.com