‘One suspect arrested in connection with shooting of two Miyahuna employees’

AMMAN — The police on Saturday arrested one suspect in connection with the shooting of two Jordan Water Company (Miyahuna) employees the previous day, according to a government official.

The rest of a group of unidentified individuals that assaulted and shot the two Miyahuna employees on Friday morning remain at large and authorities are tracking them using their cars’ licence plates, a Water Ministry official said on Saturday.

The two Miyahuna employees were carrying out regular maintenance work on a main pipeline near King Abdullah Gardens in the capital at dawn when a car carrying a man and two women skidded and collided with another vehicle near the work site, the official told The Jordan Times on condition of anonymity.

“The driver, who was speeding and driving recklessly, blamed the Miyahuna employees for the accident, saying the water on the street caused the collision,” the official said, highlighting that lights and warning signs were installed around the work site.

The driver called a group of his friends, who came to the location and assaulted the Miyahuna employees, shooting one in the knee and the other in his thigh, the official noted.

“The two employees are still in the hospital and are in a stable condition,” he said.

The Water Authority of Jordan and Miyahuna are following up on incident and will hold the perpetrators accountable, the official added.

“Article 187 of the Penal Code stipulates that those who assault on-duty employees are jailed for one to three years if they disrupt their work or endanger their lives,” he said.

The incident took place at around 4:30am, according to the official, who noted that Miyahuna carried out the maintenance work early in the morning to avoid disrupting traffic on the congested street.