Six Injured in Shooting After Dispute Over Public Smoking in Noakhali
Photo Collected
At least six members of the Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal (JCD) were wounded in a shooting incident in Noakhali’s Sonaimuri upazila on Friday night, following a dispute over public smoking. The violence erupted at the Noagaon intersection in Sonapur Union around 8:30 p.m., triggering a police investigation and a formal manhunt for the assailants.
The conflict originated on Thursday afternoon when a group of local youths was seen smoking in a public area. According to witnesses and party officials, JCD leader Naim Hasan and his colleagues intervened, requesting that the individuals refrain from smoking in public, which led to a heated verbal confrontation.
The situation escalated on Friday night when the same group of youths returned to the Noagaon intersection and launched a surprise attack on the JCD members, indiscriminately firing weapons into the crowd. Among those wounded were Naim Hasan, the vice president of the Sonapur Union JCD, and ward general secretary Md. Asik. Both were initially rushed to the Noakhali 250-bed General Hospital. Given the severity of his injuries, including gunshot wounds to his abdomen and thigh, Naim was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for advanced trauma care on Saturday. The four remaining victims are receiving treatment at the Sonaimuri Upazila Health Complex.
Video footage of the shooting surfaced on social media shortly after the incident, prompting local authorities to intervene. District Superintendent of Police N.M. Nasir Uddin inspected the scene on Saturday afternoon and directed the officer-in-charge of Sonaimuri Police Station to identify and apprehend the gunmen.
Sonaimuri Police Station officer-in-charge Kabir Hossain confirmed that a case has been filed against 12 individuals in connection with the attack. Law enforcement teams are currently conducting raids to capture the suspects as investigations into the motive and the source of the weapons continue.
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