Jeddah police have opened an investigation into the shooting death of a passenger in a car at the hands of a security patrol officer, police said on Wednesday. According to police, the shooting incident stemmed from a purse-snatching that had taken place earlier in Al-Safa district when a woman reported her shoulder bag had been grabbed at around midnight by passengers riding in a Japanese-made automobile. “The victim said that the car was about to hit her,” said police spokesman Suliman Al-Ghorair, “but she managed to get its license plate number...at about 4 p.m., the car was seen in Al-Safa district. When security men asked the driver to stop, he rammed their patrol car and fled.” The police were in hot pursuit when one of the officers fired two warning shots. The warning shots went unheeded, and the officer shot at the fugitives' tires. It was only after the car was chased into a cul-de-sac that the driver came to a halt. That is when officers discovered that the passenger had been shot. The injured was taken to a hospital where he died a short time later. “Security men found the lady's bag with her ID card, mobile phone and money still inside,” Al-Ghorair continued. “In the end, forensics experts determined that a bullet had penetrated the back of the car and entered the passenger's chest from behind.” __
