Error occured during this request! Please try again later.
Kurdistan
Family members attend the funeral (right) of Jamil Zorab (left), who was killed celebrating the election on October 11, 2021. Photos: submitted
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At about one o’clock Monday morning, when unofficial results in Iraq’s parliamentary election began to be shared on social media, first-time voter Jamil Zorab took the gun owned by his father and went to the roof of his home to shoot off a magazine of celebratory gunfire celebrating the victory of his party. When he came down from the roof, he didn’t realize there was one bullet left in the weapon. It went off accidentally, killing him.
“The bullet struck his chest and killed him,” spokesperson for Soran police Shamal Dewari told Rudaw on Monday.
Zorab, an 18-year-old from Hawdian in Erbil's Soran district, had been excited to cast a ballot for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He voted early in the morning, wearing the clothes of the Peshmerga, according to his cousin who asked to be identified by his first name only, Hevar.
"His Peshmerga father had just returned from duty and forgot to put his gun in a safe place. He didn't know his son would use it to express his joy," Hevar said.
Gun ownership is high in the Kurdistan Region and people often celebrate by firing their guns into the air, occasionally causing injury or death. Erbil’s Security Council issued a ban on celebratory gunfire on Sunday evening, but many people ignored the order. A 13-year-old girl in Kirkuk was hit in the shoulder while sitting in her family's yard on Sunday evening and was taken to hospital.
Zorab was the youngest of his six siblings. “It’s really hard for his family to lose their son for no reason,” Hevar said. “Zorab was a good person and never had any conflict with anybody. We can't believe he's dead, we are in shock. His happiness could have been expressed with fireworks, or on Facebook, but he’s a teen and doesn’t know the danger of firing a gun."
Hundreds of thousands of people across the Kurdistan Region own firearms, either as members of the security forces or private citizens. Authorities have repeatedly promised to crack down on unauthorized gun ownership with little success as dozens of gun markets still operate across the region.
“The bullet struck his chest and killed him,” spokesperson for Soran police Shamal Dewari told Rudaw on Monday.
Zorab, an 18-year-old from Hawdian in Erbil's Soran district, had been excited to cast a ballot for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). He voted early in the morning, wearing the clothes of the Peshmerga, according to his cousin who asked to be identified by his first name only, Hevar.
"His Peshmerga father had just returned from duty and forgot to put his gun in a safe place. He didn't know his son would use it to express his joy," Hevar said.
Gun ownership is high in the Kurdistan Region and people often celebrate by firing their guns into the air, occasionally causing injury or death. Erbil’s Security Council issued a ban on celebratory gunfire on Sunday evening, but many people ignored the order. A 13-year-old girl in Kirkuk was hit in the shoulder while sitting in her family's yard on Sunday evening and was taken to hospital.
Zorab was the youngest of his six siblings. “It’s really hard for his family to lose their son for no reason,” Hevar said. “Zorab was a good person and never had any conflict with anybody. We can't believe he's dead, we are in shock. His happiness could have been expressed with fireworks, or on Facebook, but he’s a teen and doesn’t know the danger of firing a gun."
Hundreds of thousands of people across the Kurdistan Region own firearms, either as members of the security forces or private citizens. Authorities have repeatedly promised to crack down on unauthorized gun ownership with little success as dozens of gun markets still operate across the region.
Comments
Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.
To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.
We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.
Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.
Post a comment