FIRUZABAD, IRAN: A bride was killed at her own wedding by a stray bullet fired during a celebratory gunfight.
The strange accident happened in Firuzabad, Iran, in a wedding hall. According to reports, Mahvash Leghaei, who is 24, had just exchanged her vows when a male guest decided to celebrate the event by using his high-powered hunting rifle without a license, which is against the law in Iran.
Unfortunately, the shooter’s gun show, in which he allegedly used an unlicensed hunting rifle, went horribly wrong. The first shot went off without a hitch, but the second reportedly went through Leghaei’s head and brain before hitting two male guests.
Colonel Mehdi Jokar, a spokesman for the Iranian police, said: “We received an emergency call about a shooting at a wedding hall in the city of Firuzabad and officers were dispatched immediately.” Jokar said that the tragedy was caused by too many people and a bad control of the weapon was caused. Later, the bride fell into a coma and died from her wounds, while the other two victims had only minor injuries.
The shooter has been identified as a 36-year-old man but no official name has been given to him. According to local news, he was a cousin of the groom. People say the shooter ran away, gun in hand, but police quickly caught him. Jokar said: “Obviously this type of public disorder crosses the line with the police and people need to know that to keep the community safer, shooting is not allowed at weddings. If anyone is caught breaking this rule, we will punish them severely.”
Wedding celebrations are supposed to be happy times, but an alarming number of them end in tragedy because the dangerous tradition is fired during the party. This sometimes results in fatalities and injuries from bullets that shouldn’t have happened. In some countries, it is a wedding tradition to shoot the bride and groom with bullets as a formal greeting. Although it’s against the law, firing a gun at weddings is still common in the Middle East.
The Daily Mail says Leghaei worked as a social worker before her death, helping drug addicts to overcome their addiction. The victim’s family has since given three people their organs as requested, and Leghaei was buried in a nearby cemetery.