GUADALAJARA, Jalisco — A U.S. diplomat was shot in this city when he was leaving a shopping center in a failed murder attempt. The suspected gunman was able to ran away after the attack. Police later apprehended the shooter.
UPDATE, Jan. 8, 12:00 CST: Mexican Investigators with Jalisco’s Attorney General’s Office, have confirmed to Breitbart Texas that the suspected shooter has been identified as a 31-year-old man from India who then became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
The suspected shooter, Zafar Zia, was arrested by Mexican authorities as part of the investigation into the attack. At the time of the arrest, authorities seized a .38 caliber handgun, an automobile with California license plates and a wig that is believed to have been used at the time of the attempted murder.
According to authorities, Zia had moved to Guadalajara in November 2016 from Phoenix and had been residing in the city since. The apparent motive for the attempted murder appears to have been a disagreement over an undisclosed visa process.
Original Story Continues:
Authorities in this state have identified the shooting victim as Christopher Ashcraft, a consular agent with the U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
A security video obtained by Breitbart Texas shows the moment when Ashcraft walks to a booth to pay for parking in the shopping center. The consular agent carryied a gym bag and was dressed in a manner that led authorities to believe that he was leaving a local gym inside the shopping center. The video shows a man wearing dark blue shirt and pants similar to a nurse’s Authorities following Ashcraft.
A second video shows the man in blue walking in circles as he awaits for Ashcraft’s vehicle. When the consular agent arrives at the exit of the parking lot, the gunman pulls a handgun from his pants pocket and fires a single shot at the consular agents vehicle before running away.
Authorities revealed to Breitbart Texas that the gunman had been using a hat or a wig, mustache, glasses and gloves during various stages of the crime — such as when he followed Ashcroft, during the shooting, and when he fled the scene.
The diplomat was left bleeding inside his compact vehicle until medical personnel arrived. An ambulance transported him to a local hospital. Ashcraft’s vehicle had consular license plates BCC0911 from Mexico’s Foreign Relations Secretariat.
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigations arrived at the shopping center to go over the crime scene and take copies of the surveillance videos. A second team of agents rushed to the San Javier Hospital where Ashcraft was undergoing emergency surgery. Medical personnel confirmed that the consular agent was shot in his right midsection.
For security reasons, Ashcraft will be sent back to the U.S. while authorities continue to look into the failed assassination attempt. The consular agent served in the Guadalajara Consulate since March 2016. Authorities announced a $20,000 reward for information leading to the capture of the gunman and any accomplices.
On Friday morning, officials with the Jalisco Attorney General’s Office confirmed to Breitbart Texas that the suspected gunman had been arrested.
Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by Tony Aranda from Monterrey, Nuevo León and Breitbart Texas’ Ildefonso Ortiz.
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