Man charged with manslaughter after fatal Ramtha shooting

AMMAN — Irbid Criminal Court prosecutor charged a 33-year-old-man with manslaughter on Saturday, two days after a shooting led to the death of a man in Ramtha, official sources said.

The 29-year-old victim, who was driving his vehicle, was shot once in the back of the head on Thursday, a senior source said.

“The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was admitted to the ICU unit in a coma,” the source told The Jordan Times.

On Saturday, the source added, the victim succumbed to his wounds and died.

A man was arrested immediately after the shooting and charged by Irbid Criminal Court Prosecutor Qahtan Qawaqzeh with manslaughter, a senior judicial source said.

In his initial testimony to Qawaqzeh, the suspect claimed that “he did not intend to kill the victim and was targeting his brother, who was in the same vehicle”, the judicial source told The Jordan Times.

“The suspect said he was involved in a heated argument with his sibling and that his brother rode in the vehicle with the victim,” the judicial source said.

As the victim was getting ready to drive away, the source maintained, “the suspect drew a gun and shot at the vehicle, striking the victim, instead of his brother”, the judicial source, who is close to the investigations, added.

A medical source confirmed to The Jordan Times that an autopsy concluded that the victim “died from a single bullet wound which penetrated his head from the back and remained in his brain, causing his death”.     

Qawaqzeh ordered the suspect to remain detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation.