A wedding in Saudi Arabia took a dangerous turn when the brother of the groom began firing celebratory shots with a Kalashnikov , sending a hail of bullets ricocheting off the walls . Horrified guests dived for cover as the groom 's brother lost control of the gun at a reception in the capital Riyadh . Firing guns in the air is a traditional way of celebrating special occasions in some parts of Saudi Arabia and despite government efforts to stop it , the dangerous practice lingers on . Shotgun wedding : The groom 's brother was caught on camera as he lost control of a Kalashnikov while firing a celebratory round into the air . Banging start : As the man starts shooting , he loses control of the rifle and fires at the wall by mistake , sending bullets spraying across the street over the wedding guest . The incident was caught on camera , and the short clip shows the wedding party making its way towards the wedding hall when suddenly the brother of the groom starts shooting in the air . As he fires off the celebratory round , he loses control of the Kalashnikov rifle and fires at the wall by mistake , sending bullets spraying across the street . Once he stops shooting , the video shows the guests attempt to reform a queue and act as if nothing untoward had happened , while resuming their slow procession to the wedding . The 30-second clip , believed to have been filmed with a mobile phone has been viewed nearly 140,000 times . Several online commentators criticise the gunman , calling him irresponsible and unable to hold his rifle right . Bad move : The procession was making its way towards the ceremony when the man started shooting . Bad aim : The round accidentally hits the wall as the wedding procession walks and bullets ricochet . The 30-second clip , believed to have been filmed with a mobile phone has been viewed nearly 140,000 times . User KhalifASakar wrote : 'It was highly irresponsible on his part . If he was so keen on his kind of jubilation , he should do it in an open space away from people . 'Even though I do not know much about firearms , I can tell you he was not holding his Kalashnikov correctly . ' Another , Byzanti , said : 'The police should use the video clip to identify the brother and apply the law . 'As long as there is no punishment , people will continue to act irresponsibly . Those who attempt to show off their firearm skills are usually cowards in real action . ' Abu Atab posted : 'The Kalashnikov man should be tied up alongside the family sheep until the wedding is over . ' The Saudi government has been calling for an end to the local tradition of firing guns into the air to celebrate weddings and birthdays , which has often resulted in accidental deaths . A government spokesman said : 'Security agencies have been told to monitor wedding halls and places of celebration to prevent this sort of thing happening . 'Those that break the law will be severely punished . We are aware of this video and relevant authorities are looking into it . '
Brother of groom fired Kalashnikov in celebration at Riyadh reception . The groom, who was not named, said he had been told by the groom's father that his son would be marrying a Saudi woman and wanted to celebrate with family members before returning home.