CAIRO: A 25-year-old man was shot dead by a policeman in the Cairo district of Nasr City, his family claimed Tuesday as the body was released for burial following an autopsy at the Zeinhom morgue.
According to Sameer Mohamed’s family, he was shot early Sunday by a police officer. They said the officer shot Mohamed in the chest after chasing him.
“Sameer was out … At 2 am, his mother received a phone call telling her to go to the Nasr City hospital,” said his aunt Amina Mohamed.
By the time the mother went to the hospital, he was dead. When she asked what happened they told her to go to the Nasr City police station for information.
“They told her that they thought he was a thug and stole the car so they shot at him to make him stop,” the aunt added.
She argued that the Cairo University graduate couldn’t be mistaken as a thug. “How can he be a thug, can’t they see?” she said.
Mohamed’s cousin, who is also the family’s lawyer, said they filed a lawsuit against the police. According to the prosecution’s investigation report, Mohamed was shooting at the police vehicle when the police shot back.
“They also said that he possessed live ammunition,” lawyer Mohamed Saeed said.
Upon checking the police car, the lawyer continued, there were no signs of bullets, unlike Mohamed’s car.
“Even if he was a thug, shouldn’t they shoot the car tires if they wanted to stop him?” said Saeed.
The Ministry of Interior could not be reached for comment on this case nor did they publish a press statement to comment on the incident.
