KARACHI: A 'mentally ill' software engineer gunned down a man in Karachi before being killed by police late Friday, officials said.

Saqib Jamal, 30, reportedly fired four shots on a man, Wasim, who had come to his house in FB Area. The suspect later took his own family into hostage.

Police, when informed, reached the site of incident, but they too were fired upon by the suspect, resulting in injuries to a cop.

The suspect was eventually killed in retaliation by police.

SP Gulberg Bashir Brohi said the suspect was a software engineer, but the way he confronted the police team, it showed he was trained in using firearms.

The suspect's family said Wasim - the ­man shot dead earlier - was a former employee at their factory and they often helped him financially. However today, Wasim came armed with a knife and demanded money, they added.

Residents in the neighbourhood said Wasim alias Babu Chacha was a decent man. Saqib allegedly got raged after having found Wasim armed with a knife.

Police believe that Saqib had been suffering with 'mental health issues' because of unemployment.

Both the bodies were shifted to hospital for further formalities.