A Saudi muazzin opened fire at two expatriate workers – one of them from Bangladesh – in a mosque on Sunday, killing one and injuring the other, according to police.
The incident took place at 3:30pm during Asr prayers in a mosque in Ortawwiyah in Majmaah district, 30km from the Riyadh city, reports Arab News.
When police arrived at the scene in response to a call from a citizen, they found Mohammed Rafiq Tajul Islam, 32, a Bangladeshi worker, in a pool of blood.
The other worker, an Indian, was alive with two gunshot wounds. He is undergoing treatment at King Khaled Hospital in Majmaah. The police have not released his name and said he is out of danger.
Sources from Ortawwiyah area said the Bangladeshi used to make the call for prayers – azaan – for the muazzin. On the day of the incident, he had failed to make the call on time, which infuriated the muazzin, they claimed.
Labour Counselor at Bangladesh Embassy Mohamed Sarwar Alam told the Arab News on Wednesday that the deceased had been working at the mosque for some time. He was from Kholapara in Shariatpur district.
He said the embassy’s legal team was sorting out the paperwork of the deceased and had informed his family about the tragedy.
The police arrested the murder accused. According to the police, the perpetrator is a psychiatric patient at a nearby hospital. However, investigations are continuing.