KUALA LUMPUR: The gruesome murder/suicide which took place at a legal firm in Menara Centara, Jalan Chow Kit, this afternoon, was triggered by a quarrel between the would-be gunman and his ex-wife.
Police confirmed that the killer, a 51-year-old man, had gone to the firm at the building’s 16th floor at 2.50pm and asked the receptionist to see his wife.
At the time, around 20 employees were in the office.
City police Criminal Investigation Department chief Senior Assistant Commissioner Rusdi Mohd Isa said the man’s wife, 46, had worked at the firm for the past two years.
“He came to the firm and asked the receptionist to call his ex-wife.
“When the ex-wife appeared, a quarrel broke out between the two,” he said.
Rusdi said eyewitnesses claimed that the man then produced a gun. He fired four shots, two of which hit the ex-wife’s back and right leg.
“The man then turned the gun on himself, and shot himself in the head.”
The man had also brought a parang along with him.
Rusdi said checks showed that the couple have three children, and had divorced five years ago.
It is also learned the wife had lodged a police report against the man in the past, claiming that he had tried to injure her.
Police were alerted to the emergency at 3.15pm. Upon the police team’s arrival, the building was subsequently locked down, with its occupants told to vacate the premises.
Two women, believed to be family members of the victims, were spotted at the building entrance. The women, crying and clearly distraught, were prevented from entering by policemen.
Police have yet to disclose the motive of the murder.