Manama: A Saudi teenager and his mother died a few hours apart after both were fatally shot by their neighbour.
The two victims, Bader, 18, and Om Bader, in her 40s, as well as two of the family children, were arriving home on Wednesday evening from the supermarket where they bought groceries for the month of Ramadan.
However, their neighbour in Najran in south Saudi Arabia came up to them and threatened them with a firearm.
The mother jumped in front of Bader to protect her son with her body, but the killer shot them both and fled the scene.
Om Bader died on the spot and Bader who was hit by eight bullets was taken to King Khalid Hospital where he died on Saturday morning, a short time after his mother’s funeral. The two other children were not harmed in the shooting.
The police confirmed the tragedy and said that the killer, known for using and dealing in drugs, was wanted for other felonies as well.
It was not the first time that he threatened Bader with a gun and had once shot him three times over financial disputes, Abdullah Ashwi, the spokesperson for the Najran police said, Saudi daily Okaz reported.
The killer was arrested and referred to the local branch of the public prosecution, he added.
Om Bader’s brother, Sa’ad Al Qahtani, told Saudi daily Al Watan that the killer had a grudge against Bader’s father after he reported his suspicious activities related to drugs to the police and to his family.
“Bader’s father noticed that the killer was engaged in suspicious nocturnal activities in the neighbourhood and informed the police about it,” he said.
“The killer then started sending threats to the father who contacted the family to inform them about their son’s behaviour. The family reprimanded their son who in his anger told Bader’s father that he would take revenge on him.”
Several social media users offered their condolences and sympathies as they praised the mother’s courage and her sense of sacrifice to protect her son.
