Man charged with manslaughter for shooting death of in-law

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Wednesday charged a 27-year-old shepherd with manslaughter in connection with the shooting death of his 17-year-old in-law a day earlier in an Amman neighbourhood, official sources said.

The 17-year-old victim was struck once with a bullet from a pump action gun while standing in front of his house, according to Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi.

“The victim died instantly, and the suspect fled the area but later turned himself in,” the police official told The Jordan Times.

In his initial testimony to Prosecutor Ali Raqqad, the suspect said he was visiting his brother-in-law’s house to see his two children, according to senior judicial source.

“The suspect and his wife have been separated for almost a year, and she was living at her father’s home with her two children,” the judicial source explained.

On Tuesday, the judicial source maintained, the suspect headed to his in-laws house to see his children, but was met outside the house by the victim, the source told The Jordan Times.

“An argument ensued, and the suspect pulled his pump action gun and shot the victim,” the judicial source added.

The suspect immediately left the area, and the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital but was declared dead on arrival, said the source.

The suspect returned home and informed his father of the incident, the source said, adding that the “suspect’s father took his son to the nearest police station to turn himself in”.

Raqqad ordered the detention of the suspect at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation.