13-year-old Youssef Sameh el-Araby passed away on Monday after he had been in a coma for 11 days after receiving a bullet to the head by a silent gunshot in Cairo’s 6th of October city, his mother, Marwa Kenawy, posted on Facebook.
Youssef was spending the night with his school friends in Al-Ashgar neighborhood on Thursday, May 18. As they were standing by at one of the local restaurants in the area to order some food, Youssef collapsed, from what was soon discovered to be a bullet wound to the head, Sameh el-Araby, Youssef’s father told Al-Masry Al-Youm at the time of the incident.
“The bullet settled in the brain stem,” Araby previously said. The doctors explained that the bullet cannot be surgically removed and that Youssef’s condition was critical and close to a “clinical death”.
The security authorities announced on Friday the arrest of a man suspected of shooting Youssef.
He is also suspected of injuring another woman in Al-Hosary Square in 6 October City on the same night.
According to investigations, the suspect is from Fayoum governorate and came to the city to celebrate the engagement of his sister. During the celebration, the suspect was shooting in the air, outside the hall, near Hosary Square, using an automatic rifle, which led to the injury of another person. The university student called Doaa Ahmed received a shot in her back, whereas Youssef received a bullet in his head.
Kenawy, Youssef’s mother, received a call later on Thursday from her son’s friends informing her that Youssef had fainted and hit his head so they had taken him to the hospital.
However, after he was examined at the hospital, it was clear that a bullet was lodged in Youssef’s head.
“Bystanders in the area thought that Youssef had collapsed due to being malnourished, assuming the head wound was incurred when he hit the ground, as no one heard the actual gunshot,” Youssef’s father explained.
