Child firing from machine gun in residential area.
Manama: A Saudi man has been referred to the public prosecution after he encouraged a child to fire live bullets from a machine gun in a residential area in the capital Riyadh.
The man was identified after a video was widely circulated on social media showing the child being urged to fire live bullets.
The police said they took notice of the clip and analysed it in order to identify the location and the people involved.
“It was obvious that the man did not care about the negative impact on the child and his young friends,” a spokesperson for the police said.
“He was arrested and the public prosecution will follow up the matter according to the legal procedures.”
Khalid Bin Abdul Rahman Al Fakhiri, a member of the National Society for Human Rights said that the man’s behaviour was a blatant violation of the rights of the child.
“Whoever gave him the machine gun and regardless of his relationship with the child should be held legally responsible,” he said, quoted by Saudi daily Okaz on Monday.
Social media users voiced harsh criticism of the man for his “highly irresponsible” behaviour, saying that he should be severely punished for putting people’s lives at risk.
One user said that police should regularly inspect homes to look for guns and seize them to help avoid such dangerous incidents.
Others who supported the training of children on firing guns said such lessons must be conducted in the desert or empty areas—not in residential neighbourhoods.
Traditions in Saudi Arabia often encourage celebratory gunfire on special occassions like weddings.
However, following a noticeable increase in the incidence of fatal injuries to bystanders of stray bullets, Saudi Arabia has, in the last five years, been implementing a strict zero-tolerance policy towards celebratory fire.
