88-year-old Hussein Jamaleddine is the latest victim of the arbitrary use of guns in Lebanon and senseless celebratory shooting.
As families across Lebanon celebrated Wednesday's Brevet results - the nationwide official Grade 9 exams - many resorted to the fatal, illegal, and alarmingly common practice of celebratory gunfire.
Yesterday's celebrations yielded at least one victim, Hussein Jamaleddine, who was reportedly killed in the Bekaa Valley after being struck by a stray bullet.
After the results were announced yesterday afternoon, fireworks were discharged and bullets were shot in the air all across the country.
In Baalbeck, eastern Lebanon, Jamaleddine was hit by a stray bullet and taken to the Dar al-Hikmah Hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds, according to The Daily Star.
L'Orient le Jour reports that Jamaleddine was sitting on his wheelchair outside his home when a stray bullet pierced through his lungs after a neighboring family celebrated the success of a Brevet student by shooting guns.
"Other people have made it all the way to Mars, while we're still expressing our joy with gunshots and risking people's lives," Jamaleddine's son told OTV.
According to L'Orient le Jour, security forces claim that they have identified the perpetrators, though the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI) has indirectly suggested otherwise, noting that witnesses at the scene refused to reveal the source of the fire.
No other casualties have been reported thus far.
This is what the result should look like after the announcement of official exam results #Would_you_be_willing_ to_ kill?
In the lead-up to the official exam results, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF) launched a campaign warning against celebratory shooting and asking people to report cases of violation, vowing to arrest all perpetrators.
Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk also held a news conference in which he urged people to refrain from celebratory gunfire and report violators.
Last night, the ISF released a list of the names of 79 people suspected in partaking in celebratory shooting on Wednesday and announced they would be prosecuted.
Last year, the Lebanese parliament passed a law criminalizing the act and toughening penalties.
Celebratory gunfire is one of the many faces of Lebanon's troubling gun culture, which sees the use of guns facilitated by easy access to weapons and inadequate law enforcement.
Innocent people are constantly falling victim to random gunfire during festive and tragic occasions. Additionally, many have been shot and murdered for petty reasons by people emboldened by impunity and political influence.
Earlier this month, seven people were reportedly killed by gunfire in just one week.