Five killed, 13 injured in shooting spree

NYABIHU - A soldier attached to the 67th Battalion at Mukamira has been arrested after shooting to death five people and injuring more than ten. According to sources, Corporal Venant Gahamanyi, 30, was offered a drink in a bar by a friend who was in the mood to celebrate his HIV negative status. However, the same friend declined to clear the bill. Apparently, Gahamanyi had gone to the bar without money. He was humiliated and beaten after failing to pay for his drink. “The bar owners decided to force him to remove his shirt and shoes and he went and came back with a gun and shot 16 people,” a witness said. The Mayor of Nyabihu, Jean Damascene Ndagijimana, said that 13 people have been admitted with injuries in Ruhengeri, King Faysal and Kanombe Military hospitals and some are in critical condition. Those who lost their lives were identified as Gasaza Mutesi, Bahembera, Samuel Nikwigize alias Dede and Simon and are all residents of Mukamira trading centre. “It started as a quarrel. We heard that the soldier had failed to pay but was asking them for a chance to go and bring money, and the owners of the bar and the people around started beating him up even after introducing himself as a soldier,” Claude Hakizimana who witnessed the shooting said. Ends