An assistant professor at the Pakistan university that was attacked Wednesday by Taliban militants is being hailed a hero after he died in a shootout trying to protect students.
Syed Hamid Husain, an assistant professor of chemistry at Bacha Khan University in Charsadda, ordered his students to stay inside as Taliban gunmen stormed the school, killing at least 21 people, Agence France-Presse reported.
Students said they witnessed Husain opening fire on the militants with his own 9mm pistol before he was taken down in a hail of bullets.
“We saw three terrorists shouting, ’Allah is great,’ and rushing towards the stairs of our department,” one man told reporters.
Geology student Zahoor Ahmed said Husain had warned him not to leave the building after the first shots were fired.
“He was holding a pistol in his hand,” he told AFP. “Then I saw a bullet hit him. I saw two militants were firing. I ran inside and then managed to flee by jumping over the back wall.”
“They fired directly at” the professor, sociology student Muhammad Daud said, describing Husain as “a real gentleman and a respectable teacher.”
Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain confirmed the professor had died, and expressed his condolences to the man’s family. He leaves behind a 3-year-old boy and a daughter who had recently celebrated her first birthday, a university administration official told AFP.
Teachers in northwest Pakistan were given permission to carry guns in the classroom after Taliban militants slaughtered more than 150 people at a school in the city of Peshawar in 2014 — the deadliest terror attack in Pakistani history.
At least 21 people were killed Wednesday, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the attack. The military said it had killed four militants, though it’s not clear if they were included in the death toll, AFP reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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