Egypt's minister of interior Magdy Abdel Ghafar. (Photo: Ahram Arabic website)
Prosecutors ordered on Thursday evening the detention of a police officer on charges of attempted murder in the recent shooting of a microbus driver in Cairo's El-Nozha neighbourhood.
On Wednesday evening, according to news reports, the police oficcer - a ranking captain - shot the driver in the thigh during an argument after the officer accused the driver of obstructing the road;
A number of microbus drivers reportedly intervened and attacked the officer, beating him badly, until police arrived and arrested him.
Cairo prosecution heard the statements of both the officer and the driver, as well as eyewitnesses.
The officer was suspended on Thursday morning from his work at the general directorate for information and documentation in the interior ministry by the order of the minister.
He defended himself in the investigation, saying that he shot the bus driver in an act of self-defence when the driver and his friends tried to grab his gun.
However, several eyewitness accounts reportedly support the driver's story of a meer verbal altercation.
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