Resident of the United Arab Emirates sheikhdom of Ras al-Khaimah have pleaded with local authorities to ban guns at weddings following an accidental killing at a reception last Friday.
While a decree from 2001 banned firearms for the practice of celebratory gunfire, many residents still carry weapons to weddings, Gulf News reports.
Marwan Al Tunaiji, a 40-year-old local, said:
“I hope the authorities take steps to stop this practice — it has turned events that should be pleasurable into sorrowful occasions.”
Brigadier Mohammad Al Noubi told the newspaper that “several weddings had turned into funerals because of the custom and urged the public to refrain from such behaviour.”
The groom at all weddings in the region is supposed to sign a document in the presence of police stating he will inform his guests that the firing of guns is banned, and even assume responsibility for any shootings.
Gulf News claims that: “the firing of guns was traditionally used in mountain areas as a form of greeting along with yells.”
The incident last Friday follows a incident captured on video from Yemen last year, wherein a presumedly drunken wedding guest gunned down victims while dancing to the 2012 chart hit ‘Gangnam Style’.
A video of the horrific incident can be viewed below: