70-year-old killed by delivery driver at Jisr al-Basha home

BEIRUT — A man in his 70s was killed at his home in the Jisr al-Basha neighborhood on Saturday afternoon by a delivery driver, according to information shared with L'Orient Today by the the mokhtar (elected record-keeper) of the eastern Beirut suburb area, Assaad Abi Rashed.

According to the mokhtar, the man alleged to be the killer, whose identity remains unknown, is believed to have been posing as a delivery driver in order to get into the victim's apartment.

Surveillance footage of the incident from inside the building, timestamped at 12:55 p.m., circulated widely online. In the footage, a helmeted man dressed in black and carrying a delivery box is seen exiting the elevator and knocking on the victim’s door.

A brief exchange follows, and then the homeowner closes the door, but the deliveryman stays in the hallway. Less than a minute later, the delivery driver reopens the door, armed with a sharp object, and forcibly enters the apartment.

The crime took place near the Mkalles roundabout, Rashed detailed, in an apartment building located close to the Aoun supermarket.

“The victim, aged about 70, was killed in broad daylight around 1 p.m. He was a respectable man,” Rashed said.

He added that law enforcement officers, supported by forensic police, went to the scene on Saturday to conduct the necessary investigations, which included the involvement of security and intelligence services, as well as the medical examiner.

According to a source at the Sin al-Fil municipal police, the victim was a widower and had a son living in Lebanon and a daughter living abroad.

“It was neighbors, worried about the lack of activity at the home, who alerted the municipality,” the source said, adding that the motive and exact circumstances of the murder are yet to be determined, pending the results of the investigation.

The Internal Security Forces did not respond to L'Orient Today's request for comment.