Prosecutor: Student killed with weapon not used by police

Police forces are not armed with the kind of weapon used to kill a student at Cairo University Thursday, a statement by the public prosecutor said, according to the state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper.

Ahmed al-Rakib, media coordinator at the public prosecutor’s office, said that investigations found that engineering student Mohamed Reda died from a single pellet shot. He continued on to say that police forces tasked with securing the university do not possess such weapons.

General Prosecutor Hesham Barakat is personally following the investigations into Reda's killing, Rakib said.

Reda was killed on Thursday when police forces entered the Cairo University area to disperse student protests.

Cairo University has challenged claims by security forces that the student was off campus when he was shot.

In an official statement Saturday, the university’s administration condemned Reda’s death. The statement said that Reda was shot with a pellet as he walked inside the university campus.

While the police did not physically enter the campus, witnesses say that the police shot Reda from their position directly in front of the university's gates. The statement referred to video proof of where the shooting had occurred.

Students at Cairo University’s School of Engineering went on strike in protest at Reda’s killing. The killing triggered a wave of student marches and protests, which continued until late on Sunday night.