Caretaker Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi contacted U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea on Monday evening and informed her that Intelligence Services had arrested a Lebanese suspect in Kafaat, who admitted opening fire on the U.S. Embassy last Wednesday in Awkar. He also assured her that the detainee is undergoing interrogation and that the weapons in his possession had been seized.
The identity of the culprit has been revealed by certain media outlets and is believed to be Mohamad Mehdi Hussein Khalil, a delivery driver who reportedly works for the Toters delivery company. Khalil fired 15 shots from an AK-47-type weapon in retaliation for a confrontation with embassy security officers. According to the same sources, the detainee had a criminal record, having opened fire on a General Security center in the past.
In response to this latest development in the case, U.S. Embassy Spokesman Jake Nelson expressed the Embassy’s gratitude to the local authorities for conducting a “swift and thorough investigation”.
