UK police arrest three more in Aya Hachem murder inquiry

In a heart-wrenching scene, Ismail Hachem and his family bid farewell to their 19-year-old daughter Aya Hachem who was killed a week ago in a shooting in Blackburn, northern England. (Firas Haidar/AN Photo)

• Hachem was killed when shots were fired from a passing car near her home on May 17

LONDON: Three more people have been arrested by UK police over suspicion they are linked to the murder of Lebanon-born student Aya Hachem.  
Hachem was killed when shots were fired from a passing car as she was out shopping near her home in Blackburn on May 17. Police say she was not the intended target of the attack. 
A man and woman, both 32, were arrested on Tuesday, Lancashire police said. 
The man from Coventry is being held on suspicion of murder and the woman, also from the same area, was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Another 28-year-old woman from Manchester was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of murder, the police added.
Hachem, a 19-year-old law student at the University of Salford, was the “most loyal devoted daughter” who “dreamed of becoming a solicitor,” her parents said.
The latest arrests bring the total number of people arrested in this case to 17.