Saudi Gazette report TABUK — A man who was shot dead at his brother's wedding on Saturday in Tabuk by the bride's father was a local police officer, according to another brother of the victim. It was reported yesterday that the victim, identified as Hassan, was killed because he was trying to enter the women's wedding hall, but his brother Ibrahim said the dispute started because the bride's father was trying to enter the female section. He said: “Everything was going well for my brother's wedding. “We were all making the final preparations. “My elder brother Abdullah is also married to a member of the bride's family.” The family went to the wedding hall at around 9 p.m. and everything was normal, said Ibrahim. “The groom, my brother Khaled, told us that he wanted to go inside the women's section to be next to his wife. “The father of the bride insisted that he go inside, so we objected and Hassan prevented him from going inside. “There was a huge fight between both families but guests prevented things from escalating. “Everything calmed down and we went to the male section. “Later we told Khaled that he could go inside from the kitchen door to be with his wife.” At around midnight, the father of the bride attempted again to enter the women's section from the female entrance and again Hassan was there to stop him, said Ibrahim. “Hassan started fighting with one of the man's sons and then the bride's father took a machine gun and shot Hassan, killing him instantly.” The bullet exited Hassan's body and hit his son in the stomach, said Ibrahim. “I heard the gunshot and I saw the father holding a machine gun in his hand. “At that time I did not know that he had shot my brother. “I took the machine gun from him and gave it to his son and told him to hide it in the car. “I then heard some screaming and shouting and saw my brother on the ground lying in a pool of blood and his son injured on the ground. “I took my brother and his injured son in the car with the help of my brothers and sons of the bride's father and went to King Fahd Hospital. “Later my brother was transferred to King Khalid Hospital where he died.” Ibrahim said that before Hassan died he asked his brothers to take care of his children. He said: “Everyone was claiming that my brother was killed because he was trying to go inside the women's hall, which is not true. “He died trying to prevent strange men from going inside.” An eyewitness said police arrived and arrested the bride's father. He said he took the victim's family back to their home before things got too heated. A brother-in-law of the victim said the murder shocked everyone. Two of the brothers, who are married to the alleged shooter's daughters, told Al-Madinah daily that their life would not change because their wives had nothing to do with what happened. A source from Tabuk Police confirmed family members of the bride were trying to enter the women's section, and not relatives of the groom.
