CAIRO: After hearing the news that a tourist boat owner was shot in the chest by a police officer, tens of Egyptians from the southern city of Aswan gathered outside city hall to demand justice. The military police were forced to intervene and break the protest up after the men allegedly tried to break into the building and cut off the road for several hours on Monday night. Mohamed Ramadan Helal, owner of a small Nile boat, had had a verbal argument with a police officer on Monday evening and the unidentified policeman shot Helal in the chest. The man was rushed to a public hospital where they operated on him and removed the bullet. His health remains under supervision in the hospital, but no medical confirmation that he has passed the critical stages has been made public. When others heard of what happened to Helal, anger spread and tens of people started marching to the city hall building. The state-run MENA news agenecy said they set car tires on fire and broke the glass front of the building. The men were forcibly removed from the scene and a security cordon has been in place since. A security source also added that the accused officer is currently under investigation and will reportedly be facing a military court shortly. BM
