A wedding celebration in Firuzabad, Iran, turned into a day of mourning after a male guest shot the bride in the head during a round of celebratory gunfire.
The bullet from the high-powered hunting rifle pierced through 24-year-old Mahvash Leghaei’s brain and skull before hitting two male guests, The Mirror reported.
According to The Mirror, the shooter was a 36-year-old man who some local reports say was Leghaei’s cousin.
The man shot Leghaei when he fired two rounds from his unlicensed hunting rifle, the New York Post reported.
The first shot missed Leghaei. The second one went through her head.
“We had an emergency call of a shooting at a wedding hall in Firuzabad city and officers were dispatched immediately,” police spokesman Colonel Mehdi Jokar said, according to the Post.
“The officers discovered that somebody had fired shots with a hunting rifle as part of the local nomad tradition, but unfortunately because of the crowds and the person’s poor control of the weapon, he managed to shoot three people, two men and the bride,” Jokar said, according to The Mirror.
The man who fired the weapon had escaped from the scene with his firearm after killing the bride. However, he was arrested later by police, according to the outlet.
Leghaei went into a coma following the incident. She later died, The Mirror reported. The other two victims survived with minor injuries.
Have you taken part in celebratory gunfire?
Since Leghaei had signed up for a donor card, her body parts were given up for organ donation, according to the newspaper.
Three individuals have benefited from her organs, The Mirror reported.
A psychology graduate, Leghaei used to work as a social worker who assisted drug addicts with their recovery before her death.
Bride shot in head, killed during celebratory gunfire at wedding https://t.co/vk9VkZnrJz pic.twitter.com/pkzh04Ts4c
— New York Post (@nypost) July 18, 2022
Celebratory gunfire is common in the Middle East, including Iran, although it is illegal in Iran and many parts of the region.
“Naturally, any disturbance of public order like this crosses the red line with the police, and people need to know that to create a safe community, shooting is banned at weddings,” Jokar said, according to the Post.
“We will take tough action against anybody found to be breaking this rule,” Jokar said.
Earlier this year in Uttar Pradesh, India, a bridegroom killed his friend during celebrity gunfire.
Manish Madheshia was standing in a chariot when he discharged a firearm, striking his friend Babu Lal Yadav, NDTV reported.
Madheshia was later arrested by police, the outlet reported.
