Egypt: Police officer shoots microbus driver in Cairo's Maadi suburb, protests erupt

Hazem Zohny , Thursday 24 Feb 2011

Eye witnesses claim police officer shot and killed a microbus driver in Maadi. Immediately after, protesters set fire to two police cars

A police officer reportedly shot a microbus driver in Maadi’s Gaza’er Square earlier today. The motive is as yet unclear, though onlookers said the shot was fired in the midst of an argument between the two, and many stated that the driver died on the spot.

Eye witnesses reported the military immediately intervened and took both the police officer -- who some said was dressed in plain clothes -- and driver to El Nakheel Hospital.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, angry protestors set fire to a police car and set it blazing in the middle of Gaza’er Square. Another police car was reportedly burned as more angry protesters began to rally in protest to the still ongoing tension in Maadi, which can be described as a calm, expat Cairo suburb surrounded by medium-to-poor neighbourhoods.

View a picture posted on Twitter of the alleged police car burning in Gaza'er Square, Maadi.

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