October 30, 2026
In a development that reflects the danger of weapons being let loose and the lack of trust in the judiciary, security investigations revealed horrific details of a shooting incident that took place in the Naameh area, where Khalil Watar emptied about ten bullets into the front of a commercial store, in retaliation for the killing of his brother Othman seven years ago. Not only did the perpetrator shoot, but he followed his attack with a public video clip in which he threatened to kill women and children if the judiciary did not send his rival back to prison, in an escalation that terrified the people of the region and almost claimed the lives of innocent people.
The roots of the case go back to 2019, when Othman Watar was killed in an incident linked to the name of Muhammad Ghader, who was arrested for a period that ranged, according to conflicting testimonies, from 13 months to four years, before he was released. Since then, his brother Khalil has been obsessed with revenge, convinced that justice has not been done. On the morning of October 2, 2026, Watar met with his rival’s uncle, Mohieddin Hamdan, and threatened him, vowing to either return his sister’s son to prison or kill him. Later that same day, after consuming alcohol according to his confessions, Watar used a motorcycle driven by the so-called Muhammad Khan to head towards Asaad Hamdan’s shop in Naameh, where he took out his gun and showered the front with bullets, thinking that he had left and hidden inside. The store owner, who was standing in front of him, miraculously survived the showers of bullets that tore apart the facade and office equipment.
Although Watar confessed to his crime after his arrest by the Information Division on October 7, surveillance cameras revealed a blatant contradiction in his story. While he claimed to have seen a man entering the store, the recordings proved that the place was devoid of any similar movement. In the face of this overwhelming evidence, Watar retracted, claiming that a person named Muhammad Al-Hourani was the one who informed him of the presence of his rival, claiming at the same time that alcohol knocked him unconscious and prevented him from paying attention to the presence of a woman and a child near the crime scene at the moment of the shooting. The perpetrator also revealed that he lost the crime tool (the pistol) during a previous failed attempt to arrest him by Army Intelligence in the Jnah area.
In light of these confessions, which were accompanied by a security record full of drug, shooting, and theft cases, the Public Appeal Attorney in Mount Lebanon, Judge Nadim Zouein, charged Khalil Watar under Articles 547 and 549 of the Penal Code (intentional murder and attempted premeditated murder). The entire file was referred to the first investigating judge, Nada Al-Asmar, to complete the investigations, temporarily bringing the curtain down on a bloody episode in the series of revenge that almost ignited Al-Nama, awaiting the final word from the judiciary.
