A security guard was killed when a gunman opened fire Wednesday on the American consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which sent the facility into lockdown.
Saudi security forces killed the assailant, per United States State Department officials.
The State Department said the motive behind the attack was not yet clear, but also noted that no Americans or American staffers at the scene were hurt as a result, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
An image shows officials’ vehicles outside the building, and AFP reported Jeddah is “the gateway city for the massive hajj pilgrimage taking place in Mecca.”
Guard and attacker killed in shooting outside US consulate in Saudi Arabia.
The attack took place in Jeddah, the gateway city for the massive hajj pilgrimage taking place in Meccahttps://t.co/KbU5mQ6At5 pic.twitter.com/SudrdeINcw
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) June 29, 2023
An individual in a vehicle parked near the consulate and exited the car with a gun, according to a spokesperson for the Mecca Region police, per Al Jazeera.
“So security authorities took the initiative to deal with him as required and the exchange of fire resulted in his death,” the spokesperson explained.
The security guard, originally from Nepal, worked with the consulate’s private security.
Another image shows what appear to be guards outside the building:
A shooting outside the US Consulate in the port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has left two people dead https://t.co/HnsYOoQZBu pic.twitter.com/9TUyyj0ytn
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 29, 2023
The consulate has been targeted before, the Al Jazeera report noted, citing an incident in 2016 when security noticed a suspicious person in the parking lot of a hospital across the street.
The Saudi interior ministry said the moment guards moved closer to that individual, he blew himself up via a suicide belt, killing himself and leaving two people hurt.
The 2016 incident coincided with the American July 4th holiday and the close of Ramadan, the outlet stated.
AFP reported Thursday that in late 2004, “[T]he consulate was stormed by suspected Islamist extremists in an attack that left five non-American staff and contractors dead, as well as four gunmen.”
“That attack, claimed by Al-Qaeda’s Saudi branch, was the first on a diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia but one of a string of bombings and shootings in the kingdom at the time,” the article said.
Saudi authorities are reportedly investigating Wednesday’s shooting.