Gulf Today Report
Eleven people were killed and 7 others were critically wounded in a shooting incident that took place in Abu Hizam, a village located in Qena governorate, Upper Egypt, on Wednesday evening.
A dispute between two families in the village reportedly led to a horrific massacre, according to local Egyptian media.
The perpetrators fled to mountainous areas after the security forces arrived in the village, which is known as the village of “blood and fire,” according to Al Watan website.
Based on media reports, a dispute erupted between members of Al Saadiya and Al Awamer families on Wednesday, due to differences over an irrigation machine.
The matter developed into a verbal altercation, which drove the owner of the house from Al-Awamer family to kill his farming partner from Al Saadiya family.
The killer dumped the body in an area far from his family's neighbourhood.
He then fled to an unknown destination and did not care about the war that would break out between the two families.
The dead man's son knew from people that his father's body was found on the roadside.
He rushed and gathered his cousins to take revenge for the killing.
The Al Awamer family refused to receive the body, until they exacted revenge for his death.
They intended to kill the perpetrator and his family.
The Al Awamer family knew that the killer's family boarded a minibus from the city of Naga Hammadi heading to the village.
They waited for them at the entrance to the village. Once the minibus arrived, they started shooting randomly at it. It was reportedly carrying 16 people including children and women.
They believed that the passengers in the minibus were all from the killer's family, but the shock was that the majority of the passengers were from other families in the area.
The security teams rushed to the scene when alerted about the shooting.
They transported the bodies of 11 dead and 7 injured, including 7 children and women, to hospitals.
The injured person underwent urgent surgery.
The authorities were able to arrest 11 people involved in the massacre, while the rest are being searched in the mountainous areas next to the village.