72-year-old charged with manslaughter after shooting death of son

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged a 72-year-old man with manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of his youngest son in west Amman’s Naour District over the weekend, official sources said.

On Thursday night, police was called on to examine the alleged suicide of a 23-year-old man at his family’s house, a senior official source told The Jordan Times.

When investigators arrived at the scene, they concluded that “it was impossible for the victim to have taken his own life, given the nature of the injuries”, the source added.

“In the initial examination of the body by crime scene investigation experts, they determined that the victim was shot twice in the head and stomach,” the source said.

Upon questioning family members, investigators became suspicious of the father who allegedly “confessed to shooting his son following a heated argument”, according to the source.

In his initial statements in front of Criminal Court Prosecutor Mohammad Bdeirat, the suspect claimed that he was engaged in a heated argument with his son “because he would often start troubles at home”, a senior judicial source said.

“The suspect stated that he drew a gun he owned and shot his son,” the judicial source said, quoting the suspect’s initial testimonies to the police.

Bdeirat ordered that the suspect remain detained pending further investigation and questioning of more family members and witnesses in the incident, the judicial source added.