Wedding guest accidentally shoots groom dead and triggers 57-person bloodbath

A wedding turned to tragedy in an instant after a guest, firing an automatic weapon in celebration, accidentally killed the groom and sparked a massacre

Shocking footage from a wedding in Chad shows the moment a guest accidentally starts a deadly clash between families that left 57 people dead.

The guest rides up on a motorbike and walks towards the groom holding an automatic weapon during the celebrations in the village of Amdirib in Batha on Friday, November 28.

Local media reported that the groom was part of Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces militia and that the gunman might be his brother. The guest fires shots into the air as a form of salute, but a bullet accidentally hits the groom in the chest as the shooter’s aim is deflected by the recoil of the powerful assault rifle, which he’s holding in the air with just one hand.

The kickback from the gun causes it to veer down so that the barrel ends up pointing at the groom as the gunman continues to fire.

Apparently unaware that the groom has been hit in the chest, the guest turns as if to show that he has finished the ritual. But gasps from the people watching prompt him to turn back in horror and begin to realise what he has done.

People quickly gather around the groom, who appears limp as they try to help him. Some media outlets said the groom was rushed to hospital in the nearby town of Ati, where he died of his injuries. Others reported that he died at the scene.

The incident sparked bloody clashes between the two families that left 57 people dead.

Firing live rounds into the air during weddings and other celebrations reportedly remains a common custom in rural communities in Chad, despite bans in some areas and repeated warnings about the risks.

The father of a groom in India was recently shot dead at a wedding by a guest among eight relatives chosen to fire rifles into the air as part of a traditional “baraat” procession.

Guests at a wedding in Belgrade in Serbia accidentally shot down a small aircraft in 2003.

Celebratory gunfire risks include not only direct fire but bullets falling back towards the ground.

Between 1985 and 1992, doctors at the King/Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles treated some 118 people for random falling-bullet injuries. 38 of them died.

For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.