A police official said Amjad died on the spot while Asif succumbed to his injuries at a hospital. He said another person namely Muhammad Ahsan sustained critical injuries during the incident. The assailant fled the scene after the attack. The under-trail accused, Amjad, had killed the father of accused Toqeer over some old family dispute, he added.
Subsequently, the family members of Amjad staged a protest against the authorities and demanded immediate arrest of the culprit. They also shouted slogans against the police officials deployed on entry points of the court for not properly checking the people. The incident occurred outside the court of Additional Sessions Judge Khalid Saleem Sohal.
An eyewitness told the media the victim was shouting that his life was in danger and he should be called inside the room (court) so that his life could be saved. But no one paid heed to his words and he was gunned down, the witness added. A heavy contingent of police reached the site after the attack and started collection of evidences for forensic tests. The police officials also claimed to have confiscated CCTV footages to ascertain as to how the assailant secured his entry in the court's premises with weapon(s).
After the incident, the police officials closed down all entry gates of the court and its proceedings and initiated a search operation for the apprehension of the suspect. All people inside the court were allowed to leave after "strict physical checking" by the police personnel. However, the police officials failed to apprehend the culprit till filing of this report.
City SP (Operations) Ali Raza flanked by Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) General Secretary Saeed Raan told media that they are still investigating as to how the assailant secured his entry into the court. When journalists asked how the security of the court was breeched despite the presence of police officials on the entry points, the SP could not give a clear answer and insisted that investigation is underway and it will be premature to say anything at that point of time. However, he added that the accused is already nominated in nine FIRs and he wanted by police in various criminal cases.
The general secretary of LHCBA told the media they have no plans to launch any protest movement over this unfortunate incident. Punjab Inspector General of Police (IGP) Arif Nawaz Khan has taken notice of the attack and directed Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Lahore Amin Wains to submit a report on the incident at the earliest.