https://www.india.com/us/shootout-outside-us-consulate-in-jeddah-leaves-assailant-nepalese-security-guard-dead-6140396/Shootout Outside US Consulate In Jeddah Leaves Assailant, Nepalese Security Guard Dead

Following the attack, consulate went into lockdown as the shooting took place and no Americans or American staff were injured, the US State Department said.

Jeddah/Washington: A security guard and the assailant who opened fire outside the United States Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were killed in a gunfire exchange in the Saudi port city on Wednesday.

Quoting an official spokesman of the Mecca (Makkah) Police, Saudi Gazette reported that the gunman who attacked the American Consulate building in Jeddah on Wednesday was killed in an exchange of fire, adding that a Nepalese man working as a security guard at the consulate also died after suffering a serious injury during the exchange of fire, the spokesman said.

Makkah Police said that security investigations are still underway to ascertain the circumstances of the incident, ANI reported.

“On Wednesday evening at 6:45 p.m., a person in a car stopped near the American Consulate building in Jeddah and got out carrying a firearm in his hand. Security authorities took the initiative to deal with him as required by the situation,” the Makkah Police said in a statement, as per the Saudi Gazette.

Confirming the incident, the United States State Department said a gunman who opened fire on the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and a local security guard working at the consulate were killed in an exchange of fire on Wednesday.

Following the attack, consulate went into lockdown as the shooting took place and no Americans or American staff were injured, the department said, adding that the motive behind the attack was not immediately clear.

The assailant was killed by Saudi security forces, the State Department said, referring questions to the Saudi authorities, who it said were investigating.

Saudi Arabia’s state news agency, citing Saudi police, said the man had gotten out of a vehicle outside the consulate carrying a gun.

“Authorities took the initiative to deal with him as required by the situation,” the press agency said. It said the slain consulate security worker was Nepalese.

(With inputs from ANI, AP)

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