Aru Mading Ater, tragically shot at Jamus football playground in Juba. Photo courtesy

Police have arrested nine individuals linked to the fatal shooting of a football fan in the Munuki area on Wednesday

According to National Police Spokesperson Major General Daniel Justin, Aru Mading Ater, the deceased young man, was taking pictures after a football match when approached by a soldier guarding a nearby house.

Major General Daniel Justin says the unnamed armed man claimed the young man was taking his picture during a match when they disagreed.

The Police Spokesperson mentioned that the young man, who was in his twenties, was subsequently shot and killed.

General Justin said after receiving the information, the police immediately went to the scene and arrested nine people including the prime suspect.

“Yesterday [Wednesday, June 19, 2024] in the afternoon there was a football match in Jamus playground, after the match there was a person who was taking pictures and they had a disagreement with the person guarding the house near the playground and as a result, he shot a bullet and it killed the person who was taking pictures,” Gen Justin explained.

“After we got the information we went there and took and body to the mortuary and an investigation is going on,” he said.

“He [the deceased] was just taking pictures while watching the game but he [the solider] thought the deceased was taking his pictures.”

A video circulating on social media, showed an armed man walking on top of a story building adjacent to the football ground after the incident

Meanwhile, the management of Bahr el Ghazal Counties’ league in Juba on Wednesday said it called off indefinitely a tournament between Tonj East and Awerial Counties after a gunshot resulted in the death of a football fan around Jamus playground in Munuki suburb.

It said in a statement that the incident had nothing to do with league games, but it called off the event for the safety of the fans and football players.