U.S. official in Mexico shot in chest, in stable condition

[tenorly]

A U.S. consular official in the Mexican city of Guadalajara was shot by a gunman but was in stable condition, Mexican authorities said on Saturday, prompting the FBI to offer a reward for information.

The victim was gunned down on Friday evening in Mexico's second largest city, in the often violent western state of Jalisco, according to Mexico's Attorney General and the U.S. Embassy.

The unidentified official was shot in the chest, said a source familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity. A video posted online by the consulate in Guadalajara shows the shooter appearing to wait for the official's car to pull up to a car park barrier before shooting directly at the driver and running away.

Jalisco is one of the engines of the Mexican economy; but the state's southern border turned into a battleground between rival drug cartels - the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (JNG) and the Michoacan-based Knights Templar.

In May, 2015, JNG gunmen shot down an army helicopter in southwestern Jalisco, claiming the lives of six military personnel.

At: https://www.yahoo.com/news/u-consular-official-shot-mexico-stable-condition-174919016.html?ref=gs

Originally posted by marylandblue at LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141658981

[Judi Lynn]

1. They are definitely leaving a message in Jalisco, aren't they?

It would be interesting to know what was the motivation. Not just anyone would want to provoke the US Gov't. It won't be forgotten.

[Judi Lynn]

2. California Man Charged in Shooting of U.S. Consular Officer in Mexico

California Man Charged in Shooting of U.S. Consular Officer in Mexico
JAN 10 2017, 5:08 PM ET
by ALEX JOHNSON




A California man is charged with attempted murder of "an internationally protected person" in last week's broad-daylight shooting of a U.S. consular officer in Mexico, authorities said Tuesday.

Zia Zafar, 31, of Chino Hills, California, was deported to the United States and charged Monday, the Justice Department said. He made his initial court appearance Tuesday and was ordered held pending a detention hearing Friday in federal court in Virginia.

In an affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, the FBI identified the victim as Christopher Ashcroft, a vice consul at the U.S. consular office in Guadalajara —although it was still unclear what motivated what Secretary of State John Kerry has called a "heinous attack."

Because he has diplomatic status, Ashcroft is considered an internationally protected person working as an agent of the U.S. government, which is why the case was transferred to the U.S. courts.



More:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-man-charged-shooting-u-s-consular-officer-mexico-n705406

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Zia Zafar