October 31st, 2012
10:26 AM ET

Celebratory gunfire at Saudi wedding sparks fire, killing 23

Wedding guests fired into the air in a celebration of the happy couple. Soon, 23 people were dead.

The shots at the event in Saudi Arabia struck an electrical pole, which then collapsed, sparking a fire, according to state media.

In addition to the dead, more than two dozen people were injured.

Most of those killed were women, according to Al Ekhbariya TV.  The wedding was in Bqaiq governorate in the eastern part of the kingdom.

Prince Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, governor of the eastern region, offered his condolences and ordered an investigation, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

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Filed under: Saudi Arabia • World
soundoff (18 Responses)
  1. BOMBO ©

    It never would have occured to me to specify "no guns" on the wedding invitations when I got married, but if we got married over there it would have been a good idea.

    October 31, 2012 at 10:39 am | Report abuse |
  2. Name s kel

    This is tragic, stupid ,and sad. A wedding? How sad.

    October 31, 2012 at 10:49 am | Report abuse |
  3. Steve

    Saudi's??? I thought it was a U.S. wedding

    October 31, 2012 at 11:51 am | Report abuse |
  4. Sinfully Yours

    I guess they don't teach the affects gravity has on objects. "What goes up, must come down."

    Somewhere Darwin is smiling.

    October 31, 2012 at 12:09 pm | Report abuse |
  5. Portland tony

    No wonder Mohammed banned alcohol. Just think what a drunk bunch of Saudis could do!

    October 31, 2012 at 1:05 pm | Report abuse |
  6. Send in the troops

    US troops are spreading democracy throughought the world, and Saudi Arabia is no exception to countiries needing their citizens freed by US democracy.
    The House of Saud is week and only protected by a small army. It should be a cakewalk to bring democracy to this sworn enemy of Israel.

    October 31, 2012 at 1:07 pm | Report abuse |
  7. Send in the troops

    Actually, Tony, Saudi citizens have the same exact problem US citizens do: Drug addictions...and not just to prescription meds. Crystal methamphetimine usage has swept Saudi Arabia just as it has swept the USA.

    October 31, 2012 at 1:12 pm | Report abuse |
  8. Old Texan

    Odd. We still shoot our guns up into the air every July 4th, and have done so for over a hundred years. Not at weddings though. We just get drunk after the wedding, but never shoot a gun even after one beer. (except when we're hunting big game in Colorado)

    October 31, 2012 at 1:18 pm | Report abuse |
    • BOMBO ©

      You need to see the Mythbusters episode on this. A bullet fired straight upward loses its spin at the top of its tragectory, and tumbles on the way down. Its terminal velocity downward is a fraction of its muzzle velocity. It comes down hard, but it is non-lethal.

      HOWEVER – AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT

      There are a few confirmed cases of people who were killed by bullets that were fired in celebration, including one case of a bullet killing a bystander about a mile away – they got a ballistics match. The theory is that if you fire up at an angle the bullet MAINTAINS its spin, and therefore also maintains lethal velocity through the arc. I'm not saying make sure you fire straight up. I'm saying, knowing how dangerous it can be, it's just best to never do it.

      October 31, 2012 at 7:15 pm | Report abuse |
  9. Old Texan

    @Tony. Banning alcohol doesn't do squat. I live in a dry county and that doesn't stop the lineup at county line liquor outlets every Sunday when church lets out.
    If you visit Jack Daniels whiskey distillery, they won't let you sample their product...the distillery is in a dry county. They do, however, allow you to sample one of their products ingredients. Water. Good water, that.

    October 31, 2012 at 1:51 pm | Report abuse |
  10. marknyc

    What a way to celabrate lifes happiness just like muslums celabrate bad things. only by violence.mohomad is rolling in heaven crying.to bad...

    October 31, 2012 at 4:27 pm | Report abuse |
    • Abe Finklestein

      Mohammed's not in heaven.

      October 31, 2012 at 7:17 pm | Report abuse |
  11. Joey Isotta-Fraschini ©™

    Now where did I put my NRA cap...
    Events like this remind me why I was taught to fire a gun safely when I was very young.

    October 31, 2012 at 6:37 pm | Report abuse |
  12. chrissy

    Lol another good reason not to get married, as if i need anymore!

    October 31, 2012 at 8:56 pm | Report abuse |
    • Bob

      Wow – thats a brainless comment – are you actually saying that this story confirms your decision not to get married, because if you did, people at your wedding party would fire guns in the air, causing a fire that would kill everyone?????

      November 1, 2012 at 4:25 pm | Report abuse |
  13. Bob

    What a tragedy..... but how stoopid can you be?? I send them my thanks for eliminating themselves from the gene pool.

    November 1, 2012 at 4:23 pm | Report abuse |
  14. chrissy

    About as stoopid as your previous post concerning gene pool. Im happily divorced 28 yrs, thanks, and really dont NEED anymore reasons to be anti-marriage.

    November 2, 2012 at 4:44 pm | Report abuse |
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