A prominent bodyguard of King Salman of Saudi Arabia was shot dead in what authorities described as a personal dispute, state television reported on Sunday, offering few details about an incident that shocked the kingdom.
Tributes came through social media for Major General Abdulaziz al-Fagham, and many included bodyguard images at work. One included him crouching down to seemingly help tie King Salman's shoes, the 83-year-old ruler of the oil-rich kingdom.
Others show al-Fagham in the background of events with King Salman and his predecessor, the late King Abdullah.
A statement of a phrase published by state television on Twitter identified al-Fagham as "the bodyguard of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques," the honorific given to Saudi kings.
There was no more information published on state television.
Hours later, the state Saudi press agency He said the dispute saw a friend of al-Fagham shoot and kill him, as well as injuring another Saudi and a Filipino worker there. A shooting broke out when the security forces responded to the house where the murdered shooter was seen and five members of the security forces injured, the news agency reported.
The newspaper Okaz, although he did not offer details about the shooting that led to his death, he described al-Fagham in a headline as "The Guardian of the Kings."
Officials in the kingdom did not immediately respond to requests for comments from The Associated Press.
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1508011/saudi-state-media-say-kings-bodyguard-shot-in-personal-dispute