For the past month, Lebanese footballer Mohammad Atwi has been hanging between life and death in a hospital. Atwi was hit by a stray bullet fired during the funeral of a firefighter who had died during the Beirut explosion.
This morning, it was announced that he passed away.
It seems the Lebanese cannot wake up without a taste of bad news awaiting them every morning.
The 36-year-old Mohammad Atwi died prematurely because, in Lebanon, some people can randomly whip out assault rifles and use them like they would a firecracker, apparently without any consequences on their part.
With his passing, the athlete joined the list of innocents who were murdered by people who cause deaths when mourning one.
“Our lives are cheap,” many Lebanese users on social media wrote as they grieved the lost footballer.
On Twitter, Mohammad Atwi’s name and pictures went viral in Lebanon on Friday, with users paying their respects on one hand, and directing criticism at Lebanon’s security forces for letting illegal weapons loose.
The grieving and angry people also expressed anger at the fact that the perpetrators have allegedly not been arrested yet.
That is, as the people calling for justice are pointing out, despite the shooters’ faces being exposed clearly in the widely-shared videos and photos from the funeral, which took place last month.
Mohammad Atwi is not the first victim of random shootings during social events in Lebanon and, if the streets remain uncontrolled the way they are today, he will most likely not be the last.
So long as these criminals are not prosecuted, and this deadly useless tradition is not banned by law, more innocent lives will be lost in Lebanon during funerals.
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