Still, few Tunisians expected the president to go, even when as many as 40, 000 people gathered on January 14th at the headquarters of the Interior Ministry on Tunis's stately Avenue Bourguiba, braving torrents of teargas and live fire.
The fire ignited after authorities threw flash grenades and teargas into the apartment to try to flush the shooter out, Stanislaus County Sheriff Adam Christianson told reporters.
When asked last year about the rules of engagement for teargas, he told the BBC that police in America are trained not to fire head-high and to either arc the canister into the air or roll it on the ground.