ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A man on Wednesday took his own life after killing his entire family, totaling 12 people, in Iraq’s southern province of Basra, allegedly due to financial difficulties. Investigations are underway into the incident.
“In an unfortunate criminal incident at 21:30 today, a father killed his entire family, consisting of 12 members, with a rifle and committed suicide in the area,” Iraq’s Security Media Cell said in a statement about the incident in Basra’s Shatt al-Arab district.
“Preliminary information indicates that this incident was a result of financial matters,” the statement added. An “extensive” investigation has been launched into the incident.
A Rudaw reporter at the crime scene spoke to relatives and neighbors. They claimed that the shooter was not suffering from any issues.
“My son, daughter-in-law, and nephew were their guests. They were all killed,” a grieving man whose son was the son-in-law of the killer, told Rudaw’s Mustafa Goran.
The youngest victim is a one-year-old child, according to Rudaw’s reporter.
Relatives and locals at the crime scene voiced skepticism over the killer’s motive, claiming instead that the man was financially stable and owned properties. People in the neighborhood also denied that the man was violent, and are calling for an investigation.
“They called us in the evening and said the tragedy had happened. The man would pray and fast and he didn’t have such motives. We do not know why it happened,” one of his relatives said.
Pointing to two houses, the relative claimed that the man owned both of them and was financially stable.
“I am their uncle. He had no problems and was mentally stable, so we have to find out what happened,” another citizen said.
