ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil governor on Monday pledged that justice will be served in the wake of last week’s deadly shooting that killed three people in the Kurdistan Region, assuring the victims’ families that the law will have the final word. Omed Khoshnaw further cautioned against framing the incident as ethnically-motivated.
Speaking at a joint press conference with the families of the victims in the Kurdish capital, Khoshnaw told reporters, including Rudaw’s, that "the law will take its course," emphasizing that the "regrettable incident" should not be framed through an ethnic lens "as some channels have unfortunately portrayed it."
It was “a crime that was committed,” Khoshnaw stated, noting that “there was no prior relationship between the perpetrator and the victims.” He further reaffirmed the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) full support for the bereaved families, noting that the accused is already in custody and will be held accountable.
“The law will take its course,” Khoshnaw pledged.
The deadly shooting that sent shockwaves across the Kurdistan Region and Iraq last week, occurred on Wednesday after a dispute over spilled fuel escalated at a gas station along the Erbil-Kasnazan west of Erbil city.
An eyewitness then-recounted to Rudaw that the altercation escalated when a gas station employee retrieved a Kalashnikov rifle and opened fire on a customer and another individual after they reportedly refused to pay for the spillage.
Among the victims were Iraqi bodybuilder Hamoudi Riyadh and his friend Abdullah Adnan. A third civilian was reportedly caught in the crossfire and killed, according to Rudaw’s correspondent on the scene.
At Monday’s press conference, Adnan Ibrahim - the father of one of the slain victims - called for the perpetrator to receive “capital punishment, which is execution," and for any parties who were negligent to be held accountable.
He expressed gratitude to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for its swift action and commitment to justice, noting that the suspect was arrested “less than an hour” after committing the crime.
Ibrahim also thanked preeminent Kurdish leader and Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) head Masoud Barzani, as well as Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw, for their “solidarity with the victims' families.”
The tragic shooting has reignited concerns over the widespread availability of firearms in the Kurdistan Region.
Despite efforts by the KRG to regulate gun ownership, illegal weapons remain a persistent security threat. Black markets for firearms - ranging from handguns to sniper rifles and machine guns - continue to thrive, with an estimated 70 percent of the Region’s population reportedly owning a firearm.
In 2022, the Kurdistan Region passed a weapons law aimed at tightening control. Article 15 of the law stipulates that “any individual who does not own a license, carries, sells, repairs, or distributes a firearm will be jailed for one to three years and fined between two million to five million dinars (approximately $1,500 to $3,800).”
