Lahore, January 28: An American employee of the US consulate in the Pakistani city of Lahore has shot dead two people who were on a motorcycle, authorities said.
“The American national told us he was driving his vehicle and stopped at a traffic signal. He saw motorcycle riders and one pulled out a pistol. The man told us he then pulled out his pistol and fired in self-defense,” Lahore police chief, Aslam Tarin, told AFP.
“A double murder case has been registered against the American,” Rana Sanaullah, Punjab provincial law minister, told reporters. “It is clearly written in the case that the American shot dead two young men.”
The US embassy in Pakistan has confirmed that the American man involved is a consular worker.
Another Pakistani man was also killed shortly after the incident when a car from the US consulate in Lahore hit two pedestrians at the scene of the shooting.
The fatal crash resulted in a separate crime being placed against an employee of the consulate.
Scores of people took to the streets after the incidents in protest, setting tires on fire at the scene, blocking escape by the Americans.
In order to squelch potential tensions between the two countries, US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters, “There’s a Pakistan investigation [and] we will cooperate fully; we’ll work as hard as we can to explain that to the Pakistani people.”
Police are continuing their investigation while the American is held in custody.
——–Agencies