CHAKWAL: A man in the Darot village of Talagang tehsil allegedly shot and killed six people and injured six others before killing himself.

According to police, Rescue 1122 staff and villagers, 50-year-old Mohammad Saeed left his home with a gun at around 6:15p.m.

Mehmoodul Hassan, a villager, said he opened fire on the shopkeeper, Ahmed Gul, of a store 500ft from his home, critically injuring him.

As he neared the main village market, which contains a hotel and a mini bus stand where public service vehicles are parked, Saeed allegedly fired indiscriminately at people sitting at hotels and outside shops.

Six people died on the spot, and another six were injured. Saeed then shot himself.

Police and Rescue 1122 personnel shifted the bodies of the deceased and the injured victims to City Hospital Talagang.

The deceased have been identified as Mohammad Azhar, Nazeer Ahmed, Mohammad Sadique, Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Hassan Usmani and Mohammad Hassan. Among the injured are Ahmed Gul, Mehr Khan, Shahzad, Ghazni Khan, Mohammad Niaz and Haji Qayyum.

“Four injured, Ahmed Gul, Mehr Khan, Shahzad and Ghazni Khan have been referred to Rawalpindi due to their serious condition, while the other two have been discharged because they both received minor bullet injuries,” Medical Superintendent Dr Abdul Razaq told Dawn.

“Saeed did not utter a single word and kept firing at anyone who came before him,” Noor Sultan, an eyewitness, said.

District Police Officer Adil Memon told Dawn Saeed was a retired soldier who married four times. He had divorced his first three wives and was in the midst of civil litigation between him and his ex-wife in Attock as his wife had filed a maintenance suit after getting divorced.

Mr Memon said Saeed was depressed because of the ongoing litigation. “The villagers used to consider him insane and that was why he was known as Sheeda Malang,” he said. He said Saeed did not have any animosity with anyone and carried out the shooting out of frustration.

“We are tracing his fourth wife, who was living with him, as she was not found at home,” he said.

Published in Dawn, July 24th, 2018