Saudi Islamic preacher A’ed ِAl Qarni has suffered multiple injuries to his arm in a gun attack in the Philippines on Tuesday, Al Arabiya News channel reported.
A Filipino official quoted by the channel said the preacher was “in good condition,” and is at hospital receiving treatment.
Al Qarni was about to leave Western Mindanao State University after delivering a lecture when was shot by an unidentified gunman as he was about to enter his vehicle.
Police spokeswoman Senior Inspector Helen Limen Galvez said security forces have killed the gunman.
“We pinned down the gunman. He’s dead,” Galvez said.
She said the gunman was apparently a Filipino and that two other Filipino men, residents of Zamboanga, were later arrested after eyewitnesses said they were with the attacker.
But Galvez did not immediately identify the gunman.
“We still do not know what this group is or the motives of the gunman,” she said.
The police report said that Qarni was shot in the right shoulder, left arm and chest.
The Saudi embassy statement said none of Qarni’s companions were wounded. Initial reports suggested a number of his aides were killed in the assault, but later the local channel Emedia based in Zamboanga said just two were injured.
The embassy also announced that it was arranging a plane to the Philippines to transfer Al Qarni to Manilla.
Minutes before the incident, a tweet on the preacher’s official account read: “Do not ask anyone about the level of his faith, but ask yourself about performing prayer, the frequent mention of God, relation with the Quran, guarding your tongue and the wellbeing of your heart.”
Source: Alarabiya