Violent clashes erupt between civilians and police in Egypt

Violent clashes between civilians and police forces broke out late Saturday night in the working class district of Shubra El-Kheima in the north part of the Cairo metropolitan area after an officer accidently killed a man during a police operation. A police recruit was also reportedly shot in the ensuing violence. The officer had been “chasing a drug dealer” at Mayou Street when he fired his pistol in the air killing Mahrous Mohamed, a man standing on a balcony, with a stray bullet, (Ahram Online) reported Sunday. Mohamed succumbed to a head injury a few minutes later. As news spread of the man’s death, hundreds of angry residents attacked police forces in the area and blocked traffic. Police leaders tried to calm the angry civilians to no avail as angry crowds sought to break into Shubra El-Kheima’s Second Police Station. An officer sustained multiple injuries while trying to prevent the angry crowds from storming the station, and a recruit was also shot during the melee. As violent confrontations escalated, the police used tear gas and fired rounds in the air to disperse the crowds, according to Ahram Online. The police station was also cordoned by reinforced vehicles to preempt the consecutive attempts to break into the building. Meanwhile, numbers of angry masses have been increasing up till press time with some stoning the besieged station from the roofs of the surrounding buildings. No deaths from the clashes have been reported thus far. The ongoing clash comes in the wake of several reported incident of police brutality in different cities across Egypt in recent weeks.