Girls’ Killer Took Tranquilizers

A Jordanian soldier on trial for gunning down seven Israeli schoolgirls was on medication the day of the shootings, a lab analyst testified Sunday.

Hassan Milhem told a military court that blood samples taken from Cpl. Ahmed Daqamseh hours after the March 13 shootings showed a high level of tranquilizers.

Daqamseh shot and killed seven Israeli girls and wounded seven others as they toured Naharayim island on the Jordan River.

Daqamseh, 26, has been charged with premeditated murder, which carries the death penalty - possibly by a firing squad. A death verdict could provoke a widespread outcry among Jordanians, many of whom still regard Israel as an enemy.

Daqamseh would face a prison sentence if the military tribunal finds that he was mentally unstable.