Mexico hunts for gunman who shot US consular official

GUADALAJARA, Mexico

Mexican authorities are on the hunt for a gunman who was disguised as a nurse when he shot and wounded a U.S. consular official in the city of Guadalajara.

The US consulate in Guadalajara posted a video on Facebook on Jan. 7 showing the shooter, dressed in blue and wearing a wig, waiting outside a shopping center’s garage at 6:20 p.m. on Jan. 6 (00:20 a.m. GMT Jan. 7), AFP reported. He then raises his gun and fires at the car before fleeing.

The shooting left a bullet impact on the car window while the U.S. consular official is seen opening his door.
Moments before the shooting video from different cameras showed the official, dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, paying his parking ticket at an automated machine. The gunman is seen following him.

“According to the four videos, it was a direct attack,” Jalisco state attorney general Eduard Almaguer Ramirez said.

The gunman was wearing a wig and a blue nurse uniform, Almaguer said.

The U.S. official, who is in stable condition, interviews visa applicants at the consulate, Almaguer said.
A U.S. government official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the official is a vice consul, adding that no motive for the shooting has been established.

The western city of Guadalajara has been hit by violence perpetrated by the powerful Jalisco New Generation drug cartel in recent years.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation offered a $20,000 reward for information about the shooter. The FBI is helping with the investigation, Almaguer said.

The Mexican attorney general’s office said it was in contact with the U.S. embassy and consulate in efforts to locate the shooter.

“The safety and security of our employees overseas is among our highest priorities,” the U.S. embassy said in a statement.

“We are working closely with Mexican law enforcement in this matter,” the statement added, saying it would provide more details “due to privacy considerations.”

The embassy issued a security message later on Jan. 7 urging U.S. citizens in Guadalajara to “restrict their movements outside their homes and places of work to those truly essential.”

“They should also take care not to fall into predictable patterns for those movements that are essential. They should vary the times and routes of their movements.”