Saudi Gazette report

 

HAIL — The Ministry of Interior has said individuals renting wedding halls are responsible for any guns fired during events held in such premises, Al-Watan daily reported.



The ministry also said those individuals are responsible for notifying security bodies of any such shootings, especially as such incidents are becoming a trend.



Some satellite channels have aired video clips of firearms being fired at wedding parties, while some guests were exchanging firearms as presents.



The ministry stressed that security bodies should strictly deal with such incidents and detain violators in line with arms and ammunition laws.



The ministry further asked wedding hall owners to include an article in their contracts that hold renters responsible for any of their guests who carry or use firearms during wedding parties.



“Renters of wedding halls should immediately notify security bodies if a guest is carrying a firearm or in case of shots being fired, and signs should be posted to warn guests against carrying or using firearms,” the ministry said, quoted by Al-Watan.



Traditional celebratory gunfire during weddings, especially in tribal regions of the Kingdom, have resulted in many fatal accidents in the past.



In October 2012, more than 20 women and children died and dozens of others were injured when celebratory gunfire at a wedding in the Eastern Province brought down an electric cable causing a fire to break out.



A total of 23 people — mostly women — were electrocuted when bullets caused the high-voltage power line to fall on to a metal door.



According to local news reports sparks from the cable caused an electrical fire in a women’s only marquee at the wedding party in Ain Badr, near Abqaiq.



Hundreds of people are understood to have been inside the courtyard of the home in Ain Badr when the blaze broke out.



The tragedy — which left about 30 more guests injured — occurred less than a month after Saudi authorities banned the shooting of firearms at weddings, a popular tradition in tribal areas of the Kingdom.