Prince kills Nepalese royals in palace shoot-out
Nepal's crown prince has opened fire in the royal palace, killing the king, queen, a prince and princess, and four others before shooting himself.
Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire and shot all immediate members of the royal family, including King Birendra, Queen Aiswarya and Prince Nirajan.
According to a military official, the shooting was caused by a dispute over the marriage of the 29-year-old prince because his mother, the queen, reportedly objected to his choice of bride.
The crown prince, educated at England's Eton College, was heir to the throne.
As Katmandu, the capital of 1.5 million, woke up to the news of the killings, thousands of people began walking toward the royal palace in the heart of the city.
"This is unbelievable ... one day you hear that the crown prince is getting married soon and the next day he goes on to a shooting rampage and kills everyone in the family," said Shreeram Shrestha, who had rushed to the palace after hearing the news.
"Shocking is an understatement, we have been orphaned by this loss," said Janardan Sharma, a vegetable seller who left his morning rounds to rush to the palace.
King Birendra became the constitutional monarch after he was stripped of power in 1990 through a popular people's movement. He has remained a figurehead, appearing in ceremonies and addressing the Parliament once a year.
The royal family is revered in Nepal. Some believe that the king is the reincarnation of the Hindu god, Vishnu.
The incident comes at a time when this Himalayan state is going through major political instability. Opposition parties have been demanding Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's resignation for the government's alleged role in a bribery scandal and for not better quelling a Maoist insurgency.
