An American was shot and killed in a car in Riyadh today by a 25 year-old Saudi citizen named Abdulaziz bin Fahd Al-Rasheed who was born in the United States, the official Saudi Press Agency reports.
The two were employed by Vinnell Company contracting with the Ministry of the National Guard, the SPA has said, in what appeared to be a workplace-related shooting.
The New York Times reports that there was a shootout after Saudi security forces “rushed to the scene…where they exchanged fire with the gunman before wounding him and taking him into custody.”
The SPA said that Saudi security forces do not believe that Abdulaziz bin Fahd Al-Rasheed had any prior interest or connection to extremism, the SPA said.
UPDATED: A statement released this afternoon by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington:
“An American citizen was fatally shot today at a gas station in eastern Riyadh. He was accompanied by two colleagues. One of the colleagues was injured during the attack while the other remained unharmed. The assailant, Abdulaziz Fahad Abdulaziz Alrashid, was apprehended following a shootout with Saudi security forces during which he was wounded. Alrashid worked at the same company as the victims, and was recently dismissed from his job due to drug related issues. He is a dual Saudi-American citizen who was born in Washington state on July 7, 1990. Alrashid has traveled to Bahrain, France,Germany, UAE, USA and, most recently, to Bahrain in October 2014.
The investigation is ongoing and the relevant authorities will reveal details as they emerge.”
