Christians Under Attack

Police officers announced on Friday they had arrested those suspected of Thursday's shooting, saying the prime suspect is an upholsterer named Adel, and was assisted by four others. All five have been captured, police said.

 

The Mercedes believed to have been used for the crime, carrying the licence plate number 392, was also impounded.

 

Initial investigations have shown the culprits intended to kidnap the victims and ransom them for around LE500,000. When the father put up a struggle, the assailants gunned them down, police said.

 

Cement trader Moawad Assad, and his 25-year-old son Assad, an engineer, were both killed on Thursday when unknown assailants opened fire on them from a Mercedes carrying Cairo plates. Moawad’s second son, Paulos, survived the shootings.

 

Hundreds took part in the funeral service later in the day, while demonstrators staged a sit-in before Naga Hammadi police station to protest the failure of the city's law enforcement officers.

 

On Friday morning, around 3,000 Muslims and Copts rallied before the station, facing off against a heavy security presence. Demonstrators blame the police for "easing off" their duties, and call for quick investigation into the shooting.

 

The Qena Governorate has a history of sectarian violence, especially against Coptic Christians.

 

 

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