22-year-old being questioned in apparent accidental shooting of cousin

AMMAN — Police on Saturday were questioning a 22-year-old man who reportedly shot and killed his cousin at their family home in Irbid a day earlier, official sources said.

The suspect and the 15-year-old victim were at a family gathering in Irbid, 80km north of the capital, late Friday night, a senior official told The Jordan Times.

“The suspect had a pump-action shotgun in his hand and a shot was fired striking his cousin in the head and killing him instantly,” the official source said.

The suspect was arrested and police are questioning everyone who was present at the house, the source explained.

“Police are treating the incident as an accidental shooting but investigations are not over yet and family members are being questioned,” he added.

A post-mortem examination conducted by a team of pathologists in Irbid headed by Ali Shotar concluded that the victim died of an acute brain hemorrhage, a medical source said.

“These kind of gunshots usually spray dozens of rounded metal balls which makes them fatal,” the medical source told The Jordan Times.

The source added that the victim was shot at close range.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi was unavailable Saturday evening to comment on the incident.