Majid Muhammad

Majid Muhammad (ماجد محمد)
Majid Muhammad's identity card photo, taken in 1977.
Born	(1909-05-22)22 May 1909 Dar Al Hamma, Salamati Trade Dependancy
Died	24 March 1981(1981-03-24) (aged 71) Jabiyah, Gassasinia
Nationality	Salamati
Occupation	Journalist
Military career
Allegiance	Salamat
Service/branch	Salamati Independence Army
Years of service	1952-1969
Rank	Marshal

Majid Muhammad (Arabic :ماجد محمد), born May 22 1909 in Dar Al Hamma, Salamati Trade Dependancy and assasinated March 24 1981 by the Kharrabi regime in Jabiyah, Gassasinia, was a marshal of the Salamati Independence Army and a journalist, exiled of Salamat on June 4 1980 for opposing the regime of Jalil Al Kharrabi.

Assassination of Majid Muhammad

Timeline

Background

Majid Muhammad had lived in Gassasinia as a refugee for less than a year after having been exiled from Salamat by the Kharrabi regime. Shortly after arriving in Gassasinia he accepted a position at Hamma Sghira, an anti-Kharrabi Salamati dissident newspaper, and he settled into an apartment in the Bab al-Haima District in northern Jabiyah.

Prior to the assassination, the assassins had threatened to bomb the Hamma Sghira offices over the phone if they did not cease publication of their paper. As a result of the bomb threats, the Jabiyah City Police Force dispatched armed officers to guard Hamma Sghira's offices, forcing them to abandon previous plans to carry out a bombing.

In the months leading up to his assassination, Majid Muhammad was stalked by his assassins who slowly built up an accurate log of his daily schedule. They figured out that Majid Muhammad set off from his home every day at 6:00 AM, arriving at the Bab al-Haima Station where he boarded the south-bound Line 3 service of the Jabiyah Subway to the Hamma Sghira office in New Jabiyah. Only a week before the assassination, Metro Jabiyah Police had spoken to Majid after he reported being followed by suspicious figures on his way home.

Two weeks before the assassination, the assassins had bought a 22 calibre revolver and 12 rounds of ammunition from an arms smuggler.

Assassination

The assassins had attempted to catch up to Majid Muhammad before he reached the station so that they could assassinate him somewhere less crowded where they were less likely to be caught by bystanders. However, Majid Muhammad had set off ten minutes earlier than usual and by the time they had reached the destination where they planned to shoot Muhammad, he was nowhere to be seen.

At 6:08 AM a black car pulled up outside Bab al-Haima Station and one of the assassins, identified as Saleh Gharbi, exited the car with the 22 calibre revolver tucked under his shirt. His partner Lamine Sanhadji remained in the car as the escape driver.

At the time of the shooting, Gharbi was seen jogging into the station by bystanders. He searched around desperately for Majid for a few seconds, until he saw him at the ticket barrier where he promptly drew the gun from out of his waistband and opened fire. Gharbi fired off six shots from his revolver, hitting Majid twice: once in the chest and once in the head. Two bystanders were also injured by stray rounds, receiving injuries to the chest and arms. Gharbi then ran back to Sanhadji's car which sped off away from the scene.

Hospital Treatment

Paramedics from the Jabiyah Metropolitan Fire Service arrived twenty minutes later, at around 6:30 AM. When the paramedics arrived, Majid was reportedly unconscious but still breathing. He was taken to the St. Luke Red Cross Hospital in Nasidariyah District where he underwent major surgery in a last-ditch effort to save him. When Majid Muhammad arrived at the hospital at 6:50 AM, lead surgeon Dr. Michel Ammar believed there was still a chance for Majid Muhammad to be saved. However, despite the surgeon's best efforts Muhammad reportedly took a turn for a worse during the surgery and was declared dead at 8:23 AM.

Suspects & Police Manhunt

Majid Muhammad's assassins were identified as 39 year old Saleh Gharbi and 48 year old Lamine Sanhadji, both Salamati nationals who worked for the Salamati Department of Intelligence and Security.