JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) -Two people were killed when an armed man exchanged fire with Saudi Arabian security authorities near the U.S. consulate building in Jeddah, leading to the deaths of the gunman and a security guard, the U.S. State Department said on Wednesday.
No Americans were harmed in the incident, a State Department spokesperson said in a statement.
“A person in a car stopped near the American Consulate building in Jeddah Governorate and got out of it carrying a firearm in his hand, so security authorities took the initiative to deal with him as required, and the exchange of fire resulted in his death,” a spokesperson for the Makkah Region police said.
A Nepalese worker in the consulate’s private security guards was injured and subsequently died, state news agency SPA reported.
Investigations are underway into the shootings.
“The U.S. Embassy and Consulate remain in contact with Saudi authorities as they investigate the incident,” the State Department spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Yomna Ehab and Tala Ramadan; additional reporting by Simon Lewis and Jasper Ward; editing by Grant McCool, Don Durfee and Leslie Adler)
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