American Is Arrested in Shooting of U.S. Diplomat in Guadalajara - NYTimes.com

JANUARY 8, 2017
MEXICO CITY — Mexican officials said on Sunday that they had arrested an American citizen in connection with the shooting of an American diplomat in Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-largest city.

The suspect, who was not identified, was seen on a security video stalking the diplomat, and then shooting him as he drove out of a parking lot on Friday evening. The arrest was announced by the prosecutor for the state of Jalisco.

The suspect will be deported to the United States, according to a statement released by Mexico’s Foreign Relations Ministry and the attorney general’s office. The officials did not give any information on a possible motive.

The diplomat, who is in stable condition, was identified by the local news media as Christopher Ashcraft. According to Mr. Ashcraft’s LinkedIn account, he has been a consular officer in Guadalajara, the state’s capital, since March.

Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement thanking the Mexican government “for their swift and decisive arrest of a suspect in the heinous attack.”

“My thoughts and prayers remain with this officer and his family during this difficult time,” Mr. Kerry said. “I wish him a speedy recovery.”

The shooting on Friday created a stir in Mexico after the consulate released the vivid security footage on its Facebook page, in an appeal for help to find the suspect.

The young man, who appeared to be dressed in loosefitting dark blue clothes similar to hospital scrubs, followed the diplomat as he paid at the underground parking lot’s ticket machine, the video showed. He then waited on the sidewalk for his diplomat’s car to emerge from the exit ramp.

He fired one round at the car as it was stopped at the lot’s barrier gate, and then ran off through an upscale Guadalajara neighborhood.