Police launch probe into teenager’s death

AMMAN — The Public Security Department (PSD) on Sunday opened a probe into the death of a teenager who was reportedly shot and killed during a police chase in the capital’s Wadi Seer neighbourhood on Thursday, official sources said.

Ibrahim Nader Masaeed was walking on the street when a Preventive Security Department patrol approached him and asked for his identification card on Thursday morning, a senior official source said.

“The 16-year-old claimed that he had no identification card and tried to attack the officers and then started running, which prompted the security personnel to chase him,” the source told The Jordan Times.

The officers fired a warning shot, but “when he refused to stop, the officers fired two shots at him, one of which struck him,” according to the source.

“The victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was declared dead on arrival,” the source added.

PSD Spokesperson Major Amer Sartawi declined to elaborate on the incident and told The Jordan Times that the PSD chief “ordered the formation of a special committee to investigate the incident”.

Basel Tarawneh, the government coordinator on human rights, said he was following up on the case with the PSD.

“Our priority is the safety and security of our citizens. An individual’s life is sacred to the Jordanian government,” he told The Jordan Times.

Tarawneh said he was informed that a special committee was formed to investigate the incident and “once the findings are ready the public will be notified immediately.”

Former deputy Lutfi Derbani, a relative of the victim, said the government “promised to launch a serious investigation into the incident and assured us that they will preserve our rights and fulfil our demands.”

“He is not a criminal and did not harm anyone. He was only a child and did not deserve to be killed in this manner,” Derbani told The Jordan Times.