Another honour killing? Brother shoots dead his three sisters and later surrenders to police in Jordan

Dubai: A Jordanian man shot and killed his three sisters on the first day of Eid Al Adha over a family dispute, the local media reported.

The incident took place in the province of Balqa, northwest of the capital, Amman. The sisters were hospitalised following the shooting but died from their wounds shortly after.

The man who fled after shooting his sisters surrendered to police on Saturday morning.

The perpetrator had attempted to shoot his brother due to a dispute between them in the Balqa governorate, but instead he shot his three sisters, said the spokesperson for the Public Security Directorate.

Search operations began in the late hours of Friday evening after the shooter fled the scene. When he eventually surrendered he was found carrying two firearms.

An investigation is now underway.

The case has sparked outrage across social media in Jordan, with many people expressing their anger about the increasing number of cases involving women being killed in Jordan in recent weeks.

“As usual, the murderer will get away with what he has done if what he did was under the name of honour killing. If we had a decent law, such killing cases would stop,” one person wrote on Facebook.

Another commenter wrote: “The penalties must be stricter to deter criminals from their disregard for human lives.”

The shooting comes two weeks after a young woman, known only as Ahlam, was killed by her father in Balqa.

According to the witnesses, Ahlam, who local media reported as having faced domestic abuse for years, ran from her home with blood all over her body, screaming for help.

Her father then allegedly chased her with a brick and beat her until she died. Witnesses said he smoked a cigarette and drank tea next to her corpse afterwards.

Local media said the father was charged for the murder after appearing before the Grand Criminal Court in Amman.