The army seized two Kalashnikov rifles, three hand grenades and a quantitinty of ammunition that were in the possession of the suspect in the shooting that took place on Friday in Tripoli's al-Tal neighborhood. (Credit: Lebanese Army website)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army, with the support of a patrol from the Intelligence Directorate, arrested a second suspect, indentified as B.H., on Saturday after carrying out raids in the old souk of Tripoli, North Lebanon, to locate those involved in the shooting that took place Friday at a phone shop in the city's al-Tal neighborhood, according to a statement issued by the army on Sunday.
Friday's clashes killed four people, including two brothers and the shop's owner, and injured another person. Military grade weapons were reportedly fired during the altercation at the cell phone shop in the al-Tal neighborhood.
In its statement, the army announced its arrest of a suspect and seizure of two Kalashnikov rifles, three hand grenades and a quantity of ammunition that were in the suspect's possession.
The army added that it has handed over the arrested person, along with the seized items, to the judiciary, and that an investigation into the deadly shooting has been launched under the supervision of the competent judiciary.
According to a previous statement from the army, four people are suspected of involvement in the shooting. One of them, a convict with a criminal and terrorist background, died during the clashes, and another one was arrested on Saturday.
At first glance the incident appeared to be motivated by a burglary of the phone shop, but later transpired that it may have a personal dimension. According to the daily newspaper an-Nahar, a man with a gun provoked the owner of the store, whose employees intervened to defend him.
This incident has raised fears of a resumption of tensions between the Alawite neighborhood of Jabal Mohsen, from which the shop owner hails, and the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh. Indeed, following the shooting, gunfire rang out on Friday evening in various parts of Tripoli and a grenade was thrown in the town of Riva. These incidents were followed by several clashes that resulted in injuries in Qibbeh and Nejmeh Square. The army and the Internal Security Forces were deployed, before calm resumed.