Jordanian Parliament takes unprecedented steps after shooting incident

According to Jordan’s Vice-Chairman of the Parliament Khalil Attieh, the Parliament has taken unprecedented measures that will contribute to preserving the Parliament’s prestige and prevent future violations by all parties, following the shooting incident on Monday.

Attieh, who is viewed as a pillar of the legislature, believes the Parliament’s decisions are responsible ones, and he expressed his regret for any incident that distorts the image of Parliament and the nation. He urged all parties, and specifically the media, not to generalize from any individual act inside the Parliament.

The Jordanian Parliament adopted on Monday unprecedented measures to expel MP Talal Al-Sharif, who used a Kalashnikov rifle to shoot at MP Qusay Al-Demsi during a dispute. The Parliament also decided to freeze the membership of Al-Demsi for one year as a disciplinary punishment for his role in triggering the dispute.

Although Al-Demsi was the shooting target, the ad-hoc investigation committee found him guilty of inciting the action. The MPs said that Al-Sharif resorted to arms only after Al-Demsi slapped him while they were shaking hands in an effort to resolve their dispute.

Al-Sharif was so offended by the slap that he rushed to produce his machine gun from his car and started shooting.

According to Attieh, Al-Sharif, who was shooting while in a state of anger, only hit the wall. Attieh himself witnessed the incident and appealed to his colleague to lay down his arms. However, Al-Sharif refused to listen and continued to fire aimlessly.

Attieh reported that the bullets missed Al-Demsi because he was not in the range of fire, even though Al-Sharif was screaming and threatening to kill Al-Demsi while shooting.

According to sources, MP Dr. Mariam Allawzi rushed to push her armed colleague to the wall with the help of Attieh and another male colleague, an action that stopped the shooting from injuring anyone.

Earlier, Al-Sharif had refused to comply with the security guard who asked him to keep his weapons outside the Parliament’s premises, threatening to shoot him if he insisted on stopping him. The Chairman’s driver eventually took the weapon from the angry MP.

The incident took place in the ceremonies hall dedicated to the Parliament’s senior visitors near the dome of the parliament, as well as inside the corridor used by MPs, senior ministers and official figures.