AL AIN // A man has been arrested for shooting another as he prayed in what is believed to be a revenge attack for a murder three decades ago.
The Emirati killed the other UAE national, 50, during afternoon prayers at Al Mhrami Mosque, in Al Munazafa Area of Al Ain, and threatened to shoot other worshippers as he fled.
Police said the attacker had held a grudge over the killing of a relative for 30 years and wanted to avenge his death.
They said the gunman found the mosque where the victim prayed but did not recognise his target, so he asked other worshippers for help in identifying him.
He then shot the victim to the back of the head and other parts of his body as the man prayed, then escaped, threatening others not to follow him. He later turned himself in at a police station.
Prosecutors said “the intention to murder was engraved within the defendant” and that he confessed. They said the killing happened three months ago but did not provide a date.
They said he attacked with no consideration for the fact that it was a mosque, because he believed that the heirs of a victim had the legal right to avenge their relative.
He was also charged with possessing a gun and bullets without a licence, insulting Islamic symbols and places of worship by committing a crime inside a mosque, and threatening to kill other worshippers at gunpoint.
The suspect was also found to be under the influence of illegal, psychotropic pills.
Public prosecutors have requested the heaviest possible punishment for the murder charge.
hdajani@thenational.ae
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