Stress and Work-related Issues Are Most likely the Reasons Morocco’s Policeman Killed Colleagues
By Mohamed Hikal
Morocco News Tribune
Taroudant, Morocco | According to some sources from Almassae, the police officer, who was reported to shoot three of his colleagues’ dead Sunday inside Machraa Belkssiri police precinct, was newly transferred from Tetouan destrict (north of Morocco) as a disciplinary measure. He was said to be constantly teased by his superiors.
The other officers had succeeded in disarming and subduing the man before they cuffed him and put him in custody inside the principal police precinct in Belkssiri, said the same source.
Until late yesterday, the reasons behind his acts were still unknown. This act cost the lives of three officers: Rachid Agdir and Rachid Elhimer and Said Falahi.
However, some officers said that work stress and the low morale due to his transfer from Tetouan to Belkssiri are more likely to be behind the incident.
Alakhbar newspaper said that the shooter, who was from Tetouan, married and father of five, demanded that some highly ranked members from the police headquarters in Rabat be called in order to release four officers in addition to the three killed.
These negotiations lasted for long before ending in the bloodshed and the shooter got subdued.
In the same respect, Akhbar Alyaoum stated that the killer had been arguing with the chief commissioner. This latter forced him to wear his duty uniform after he had been used to function in plain clothes as a commissioner.
The same source added that the officer had been involved in a verbal argument with the chief commissioner before he withdrew his gun aiming at his rival. Other officers interfered to control him and got shot in the process.
It is worth mentioning that we covered the incident as it happened Sunday when a police officer in Machraa Belkssiri, north of Morocco, fired his gun and shot his colleagues Sunday inside the city precinct, resulting in the killing of 3 police officers and badly wounded.
