Nancy Ajram's manager has shed further light into the Lebanese pop-star’s terrifying home robbery.
On the early hours of Sunday, January 5, a man was killed after scaling the walls of Ajram's villa in the Keserwan district of Beirut, where he was confronted by her husband, celebrity dentist Fadi Al Hashem, who shot him during the confrontation.
With the police arriving on the scene soon after, an arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Al Hashem and an investigation is currently under way.
Calling in later that evening on the talk show Kul Youm on the Egyptian broadcaster On Ent, Ajram's manager Jiji Lamara said the intruder, a 30-year-old Syrian called Mohammed Hassan Al Moussa, gained entry into the property while Ajram and her family were hosting dinner guests.
“The guests were inside and before they turned on the alarm, he climbed over the fence and hid,” he said. “Once the guests left he did what he did.”
Lamara said the incident began around midnight when the family spotted Al Moussa hiding on the veranda. It was Al Hashem who confronted an armed Al Moussa inside the house where he gave him the money he had on him.
The situation escalated, Lamara said, when Al Moussa made his way towards the bedrooms of Ajram's three children in search of gold and jewellery. It was then Al Hashem, who reached for his weapon, chased after him and shot him.
Lamara labelled Al Hashem's actions as self-defence.
“It could have been a kidnapping or murder,” Lamara said. “And like any father who is scared for his family, he had no other choice but to go down this path.”
When pressed by the host Khaled Abu Baker on how Al Moussa managed to evade the security guards stationed in the property, Lamara said that he too is "puzzled by what happened".
With regards to a photo circulating of a distressed Ajram sitting on a couch with a bandage above the right ankle, Lamara confirmed the singer suffered from a "minor injury," without elaborating its cause.
An overall failure of security
MBC Group's official spokesman Mazen Hayek expressed his dismay surrounding the incident. Ajram is a major presence on the Dubai based pan Arab network, with her current role as coach on The Voice Kids in addition to being a jury member in Arab Idol.
"Fadi Al Hashem and Nancy Ajram could have left Lebanon a long time ago and resided in Dubai or Cyprus or anywhere else," he posted on his social media channels. "But they deliberately chose to stay in Lebanon. They were determined to invest and work there and raise their three children out of love for the homeland and attachment to the roots."
Hayek went on to chalk the robbery as part of the deteriorating security situation facing Lebanon.
“However, the failure the Lebanese state apparatus to protect them – and to protect the lives and livelihoods of the Lebanese people over the years – makes the survival of the likes of Fadi Al Hashem and Nancy Ajram and their family in Lebanon very difficult,” he said – thus hinting to the brain drain, mass immigration and exodus of capitals from Lebanon.
Pop stars Ahlam and Najwa Karam react
The news of the attempted robbery shocked the Arab music industry.
With Ajram yet to make an official comment on the incident, plenty of artists went online to show support for the singer.
Emirati singer and fellow Arab Idol judge Ahlam expressed her support for Al Hashem: "He entered their house armed and threatened to kill. He then entered the room of her daughters with her father chasing behind like a madman. And this is self-defence and defending innocent children with no fault. With God's permission the Lebanese judiciary will be just as they will deal with this disaster God willing."
دخل بيتهم مسلح وهدد بالقتل ودخل غرفه بناتها والاب يركض مثل المجنون وهذا دفاع عن النفس وعن اطفال ابرياء مالهم اي ذنب وباذن الله القضاء اللبناني عادل وراح يتجاوزون هالمصيبه باذن الله https://t.co/zqGG9hsmOP
— A H L A M 🇦🇪 #Ahlam2021 (@AhlamAlShamsi) January 5, 2020
Fellow Lebanese pop star Najwa Karam wished the singer well, "praying to God that you will overcome difficult time."
7amdella 3ala salemetkoun, w nchallah ma bisiibkoun aza, w nechkour Allah ennou khlostou bi kheyr men hal 2tou3🙏🏼 @NancyAjram
— Najwa Karam (@najwakaram) January 5, 2020
Allah ykhallis hayda l balad men kell lli 3am ysiir fi...🙏
Egyptian singer and fellow The Voice Kids coach Mohammed Hamaki tweeted: "Praise be to God on your safety, Nancy. May God protect you, your daughters and family from all evil."
