Off-duty police officer recovers after being shot

AMMAN — A police officer, who was shot on Sunday night following an altercation with another motorist in the Jordan Valley, was recovering at hospital from his injuries, official sources said.

Meanwhile, police said on Monday they are searching for the suspect who escaped from the scene in Northern Shouneh, Jordan Valley, following the shooting incident.

“The officer, who was off duty, was with another man when they engaged in a heated argument with the suspect and another motorist over traffic priority,” Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

Both the off duty officer and the motorist were struck by bullets fired by the suspect in the other vehicle, Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

Both men were rushed to a nearby hospital where they remain listed in fair condition, the police official added.

The victims were able to identify the suspects from a group of photos presented to them by police and one of them was "known to the authorities because of his criminal record," a second official source told The Jordan Times.

Also Monday, a man was killed in Amman following a street brawl among a group of men in which guns and blunt objects were used, Sartawi said.

The brawl, which occurred around 2am in the Hashmei neighbourhood resulted in the injury of two men, he added.

Both men were rushed to a nearby hospital but one of the two was declared dead on arrival, Sartawi said.

“We have arrested some people who were involved in the incident and are searching for more suspects to determine who was responsible in the death and injury of the two men” the police official added.

The body of the deceased was transferred to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine (NIFM) for an autopsy on Monday, the centre’s director Adnan Abbas said.

“We performed an autopsy and concluded that the victim died from a single bullet wound to the chest,” Abbas told The Jordan Times.

The bullet that was extracted from the victim was sent to the criminal lab for a ballistic match, according to Abbas.

Investigations are ongoing in both incidents in Amman and the Jordan Valley, Sartawi said.