KARACHI: A young man was killed and four others wounded when a lone gunman, before shooting himself to death, opened indiscriminate fire at people dining at a restaurant on Rafiqui Shaheed Road near the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) late on Sunday night, police said on Monday.

DIG-South Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that investigators were working on the case to ascertain as to whether the assailant, identified as Zahir Ali, was “mentally deranged” or motivated by some personal reasons.

He said the suspect appeared to be targeting two individuals at the restaurant. One of them, Imran Rasheed, was killed on the spot, while the other, Mohammad Ali Tanoli, Rasheed’s brother-in-law, managed to escape.

Two restaurant employees, a JPMC staff member and a customer were also wounded. After the attack, the suspect went to the roof of the restaurant and shot himself. He later died during treatment at the JPMC.

The wounded were identified as Kaleem Sadiq, 25, Abu Bakr, 27, Haroon Latif, 20, and Afzal Aqeel, 35.

Deceased Rasheed had been at the National Institute of Child Health, where his wife had recently given birth to a baby girl. He and his brother-in-law, Mr Tanoli, were having a meal at the nearby restaurant when Zahir opened fire on them.

DIG Raza said that the deceased Zahir was stated to be “emotionally disturbed.” He originally hailed from Mardan.

The police were trying to trace his relatives to seek information about his medical condition and other details. He did not carry any cell phone.

A case was registered under section 302 (murder) and 324 (attempted murder) against him on the complaint of Mr Tanoli.

The complainant told the police that they did not have any enmity with anyone.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025