Death toll in Karachi bus shooting rises to 44
The shooting incident took place near Safoora Chowrangi in Karachi.
KARACHI (Web Desk / AFP) – At least 44 people have been killed and 13 others injured when some unknown gunmen attacked a passsenger bus near Safoora Chowrangi in Karachi, Dunya News reported.
Reportedly, sixteen women were among the dead.
"Six terrorists came on three motorcycles, they entered the bus and began firing indiscriminately. They used 9mm pistols and all those killed and injured were hit by the 9mm pistols," he said.
The bus was enroute to Ayesha Manzil from Al-Azhar Garden.
"The bus had a capacity of 52 passengers but it was overloaded and dozens of people were boarding it. Most of them were from (the) Ismaili community," a police official said.
The attackers managed to flee from the scene on three motorbikes.
A woman witness, who survived the attack, said the bus was surrounded and stopped by the terrorists, who entered it from the back door.
"The attackers killed the driver and asked all the passengers to kneel with their heads facing the ground," she said.
She said that one of the attackers told the others "shoot them all," after which they opened indiscriminate firing at the passengers.
Inspector Crime Scene Unit Tariq Jadoon said that they have found some blue caps, which are worn by personnel of private security companies, from the bus along with 9mm casings.
He speculated that some of the attackers might be wearing uniforms of some security company when they stopped the bus before attacking it.
The victims were rushed to Memon Medical Institute and Hospital where an emergency was imposed.
Taking notice of the incident, Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah suspended the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Station House Officer (SHO) of the area.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident and expressed grief over the loss of precious lives.
He has directed the concerned authorities to submit a report.
- ANGUISHED RELATIVES -
At the city`s Memon Hospital Institute, where most of the wounded were rushed, crying relatives formed a human chain outside the main building to keep onlookers away.
A sobbing middle-aged man told AFP: "I have come to collect the body of my young son. He was a student preparing for his first year exams at college."
The attack comes as Pakistan steps up its efforts against militants following a Taliban massacre of 150 people, mainly children, in a school in Peshawar last year.
In the aftermath the government ended a six-year moratorium on executions, passed legislation to create military courts for terrorism cases, and pledged to crack down on all militant groups.
Karachi, a sprawling city of roughly 20 million, has long had a reputation for high crime rates as well as ethnic, political and sectarian violence.
But the violence has significantly fallen since 2013 after police and paramilitary rangers launched a targeted operation in the city.
