US contractor shot and killed in Saudi Arabia

A US defense contractor has been killed and a second injured after a shooting at a gas station in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh - and it was all over a workplace conflict, Saudi authorities believe. 

 

Abdulaziz Fahad Abdulaziz Alrashid, 24, opened fire at the gas station in a western district of Riyadh - killing one contractor in his car and wounding a second. He chased the second American into the gas station before police arrived. 

 

Alrashid - who is a dual US-Saudi citizen - had recently been fired for drug use by Vinnell Arabia, a US defense firm that is working with the Saudi National Guard. It is believed the victims were his former supervisors, Saudi authorities said. 

 

 Alrashid was born to Saudi parents in Washington state. He had traveled to France, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and most recently Bahrain. The attack occurred about half a mile from the Vinnell Arabia compound and 20 miles from the US Embassy. 

 

A third American contractor, who was following in another vehicle, witnessed the attack, but was not injured.  

 

Police cornered Alrashid in the gas station and wounded him in a brief gun battle. He was later apprehended and charged. 

 

Saudi authorities were quick to say that the attack was not terrorism related. Instead, they said it was the act of a disgruntled former employee.

 

Still, it rattled many of the thousands of Western expats who live and work in Saudi Arabia.