Seven-year-old girl killed as guard shoots at fleeing robbers

A seven-year-old girl was shot dead as her father was driving her to school on Thursday. Initial reports said she was killed by a stray bullet. Police later took a tea shop’s security guard into custody for firing at fleeing robbers, since one of the bullets had hit the child.

The incident took place near the Sakhi Hassan flyover in the Taimuria police station’s jurisdiction. The father Saqib said his daughter Maryam was sitting in the back seat of the car.

“I turned around when I heard the windowpane break and found my daughter lying in a pool of blood. A bullet from the other side of the road had struck her head. After that I saw armed suspects fleeing from that side.”

Saqib took his daughter to a private hospital, where doctors pronounced her dead on arrival. Her body was later taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The victim’s grandfather said Saqib is a university professor and Maryam studied in grade three.

District Central police chief Faisal Abdullah Chachar and Rangers officials visited the crime scene. SSP Chachar also formed a four-member investigation team, which is headed by the Gulberg SP, with the Shadman DSP, the Taimuria SHO and Shahrah-e-Noorjahan SHO Qamar Javed Kayani as members.

SHO Kayani said the security guard they have taken into custody is named Ali Raza, who told the police he had attempted to catch fleeing robbers and fired at them. “Basically, the security guard opened straight fire in the wrong direction.”

The officer said the police have obtained the CCTV camera footage that confirm the facts of the incident. Police also recovered a rifle and a .223-calibre bullet from the guard.

The tea shop owner said that two suspects had robbed his customers of cash and mobile phones. “While they were looting the customers, I asked the security guard to retaliate. The guard asked them to return the looted cash and valuables but the robbers tried to escape by resorting to firing.”

The man said the security guard opened fire on them but they had escaped. “We had no idea about the girl. Even the guard went to sleep after the incident. But after a while police asked us about the incident, and after examining the footage, took the guard away with them.”

The funeral prayers of the victim were offered near her residence in the Buffer Zone locality. The victim’s father refused to lodge a complaint, so case No. 724/2023 was registered on behalf of the state at the Taimuria police station under Section 319 (Punishment for Qatl-i-khata) of the Pakistan Penal Code.