A gunman shot and wounded a 31-year-old U.S. consular official as he left a gym in Mexico on Friday, according to a report.
The shooter ambushed the state worker in his vehicle outside a mall in the Jalisco capital of Guadalajara, striking him once in the chest around 6:20 p.m., authorities said.
The victim has been identifed as Christopher Ashcraft, according to The Guardian.
A gunman shot and wounded a 31-year-old U.S. consular official as he left a gym in Mexico on Friday, according to a report.
The shooter ambushed the state worker in his vehicle outside a mall in the Jalisco capital of Guadalajara, striking him once in the chest around 6:20 p.m., authorities said.
The victim has been identifed as Christopher Ashcraft, according to The Guardian.
1/3 El FBI ofrece una recompensa de $20,000 dólares por información que lleve a la identificación del sujeto que disparó https://t.co/hazfD53Dkw
— US Consulate Gdl (@USCGGuadalajara) January 7, 2017
The attack was captured on surveillance footage and shows a suspect in sunglasses and purple scrubs following the victim out of a parking garage at the city’s Plaza Sania Mall. He then paces near a driveway before opening fire on a black vehicle leaving the mall.
As the shooter fled, bystanders rushed to help the victim, according to the video.
He was taken to a nearby hospital and is in stable condition.
A police source told the Guardian the shooter may have been a hitman who aimed for Ashcraft’s head and missed.
“That’s not an easy shot,” the source said.
The FBI has issued a $20,000 reward for information leading to a suspect’s arrest. He was shown in a nearby coffee shop near the time of the shooting.
Ashcraft has been working in Guadalajara as a foreign service officer since June 2015, according to his LinkedIn.
The U.S. Embassy warned American citizens in the Guadalajara area to avoid predictable movements near their homes and workplace pending the police investigation.
“The safety and security of our employees overseas is among our highest priorities,” said an embassy spokesperson who declined to be identified.
