Guard shoots self, dies accidentally at DG Khan school: IG Punjab

Published May 4, 2015
The spokeswoman said the security guard was performing his duty inside the school gate when, at 12:26pm, the school watchman and other staff heard the sound of fire and found Abbas dead with a head injury. ─ File
The spokeswoman said the security guard was performing his duty inside the school gate when, at 12:26pm, the school watchman and other staff heard the sound of fire and found Abbas dead with a head injury. ─ File

LAHORE: Security guard Abbas stationed at a Dera Ghazi Khan high school for boys died due to accidental fire from his own rifle on Monday reported Nabeela Ghazanfar, spokeswoman for Inspector General Punjab Mushtaq Sukhera.

The spokeswoman said the security guard was performing his duty inside the school gate when, at 12:26pm, the school watchman and other staff heard the sound of fire and found Abbas dead with a head injury.

Police reached the spot, and after inspection of the crime scene, CCTV footage and the statement of the school watchman, concluded that Abbas died accidentally and there had been no attack on the school.

The children of the school were safe and the routine educational activities carried on at the school over the course of the day.

The guard's body was sent for a postmortem.

Earlier, Reuters had filed a contradictory report citing police sources who claimed that unidentified gunmen attacked the DG Khan school on Monday, killing the guard.

The police sources told Reuters that all teachers and children at the high school for boys were safe, although the gunmen had killed a guard.

“We are still not sure how many gunmen there were and whether they are still there. The police are searching,” district police officer Rehmatullah Khan Niazi told Reuters.

Explore: Undeterred and unafraid, Army Public School reopens

The attack on Peshawar's Army Public School in December 2014 hardened Pakistan's resolve to fight militants who have been battling the state for years. In the wake of the attack, the government implemented a National Action Plan in order to crackdown on militancy and combat terrorism.

A monthly report released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies in April showed a decline in militant attacks from January to March as a result of operations conducted in various parts of the country.

There have been two grenade attacks on schools in Karachi since early February, though no one was hurt in either one.

Read more: Militant attacks declined in March

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