A Syrian was arrested Sunday for allegedly killing three members of his nomadic clan, including a child, in Shtoora region in the Bekaa Plain.
Police said the murders stemmed from a family feud, reported the Daily Star on Monday, citing police sources.
The unidentified suspect was arrested in Syria, according to the police.
Mohammed Homeidi, 60, his wife Hadl Musa, 50, and their 8-year-old son Abdel-Ghani died instantly when the gunman riddled them with bullets from an assault rifle. Two other sons were wounded and transported to Shtoora’s Mais Hospital.
Abdel-Mohsen, 25, who was transferred to a Damascus hospital around noon, was shot in the head and is in critical condition. Abdullah, 15, suffered minor injuries and is in stable condition, a physician at the Mais Hospital said.
The two remaining Homeidi children, Abdel-Rahman, 15, and Fatmeh, 11, were unharmed.
Police have taken them in for questioning, said the paper.
The murder weapon, an AK-47 assault rifle, was reportedly found about 20 meters away from the three-room, goat-hair tent. Police sources say about 30 shots were fired at the family.
Following the general prosecutor's visit to the crime scene, a military intelligence agent pushed away reporters, saying: "The matter is closed and it's a family issue. There's nothing else to be said."
Neighbor Farouk Mohammed told the paper he heard gunshots at around 2:45am, but assumed they came from a nearby Syrian Army post.
"We just heard shots, no screams, nothing. But 10 minutes later Abdel-Rahman woke us up. That's when we heard the young girl (Fatmeh) screaming," he said. Mohammed reported seeing the three corpses riddled with bullets in what he described as "a horrifying sight."
Chehadeh Khalaf, a long-time family friend from the same village in Syria's Rakka district said: "They're a very peaceful family and they are never in any type of trouble whatsoever. They're good people."
In separate events last month, two Syrian workers were killed on August 19 by the accidental detonation of a hand grenade, and two others were killed in a similar incident two weeks earlier – Albawaba.com
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