Four charged with premeditated murder over deadly Amman shooting

AMMAN — Four men were charged on Saturday with premeditated murder in connection with a deadly shooting on Thursday in east Amman that left three men dead and two women injured, a senior judicial source said.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Loay Obeidat charged four men between the ages of 22 and 32 with three counts of premeditated murder and two counts of attempted premeditated murder, a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

“Obeidat questioned the four suspects and levelled charges against them, but his investigation are into the incident is still ongoing,” the senior judicial source said.

The Thursday morning incident, which authorities described as an act of revenge, involved the four suspects, who allegedly ambushed the vehicle the victims were in and sprayed it with bullets.

One suspect was arrested on Thursday following a brief chase that started in Jweideh neighbourhood and ended in Khalda, while the remaining three suspects turned themselves in to the authorities on Thursday and Friday, the senior judicial source said.

The incident occurred near the Criminal Court building when the five victims, all in the same vehicle, left the area and were reportedly cornered by a bus belonging to the suspects, who started firing live rounds at random from automatic rifles.

The driver of the vehicle was hit, and the car veered off the street and skidded into a forest area next to a tree.

Police said the shooting incident was “an act of vengeance by the suspects in relation to a murder of one of their relatives in 2014”.

Both women injured in the accident remained hospitalised in good condition, an official source told The Jordan Times on Saturday.