Menoufia locals riot after police shooting death

CAIRO: In response to an “accidental” police shooting in which a man was killed during an armed fight Friday, dozens have blocked the railways, protested outside a police station and smashed the reception of the local hospital in Ashmoun, Menoufia, Youm7 reported.Security forces dispersed the deceased’s family members and other locals from the railway and train traffic to Cairo resumed.
Firearms and bladed weapons were used in the original fight, which was triggered when the deceased allegedly attacked a girl, whose family then engaged in a fight with him.
But when security forces shot in the air to break up the crowd, an officer shot the man in the stomach with a single bullet, which police say was an accident.
The wounded man was rushed to Ashmoun public hospital, and locals vandalized the hospital’s reception when he was announced dead. The hospital was immediately closed down.
A senior security source in Menoufia Security Directorate told Youm7 that the deceased had a criminal record and is wanted in a case where he was sentenced to two years in prison. He added that he was also high on drugs during the fight.
The name of the police officer who shot the man has not been revealed.