JUBAIL, 2 May 2003 — An American working at a Saudi naval base was shot and injured here yesterday, a Defense Ministry spokesman said. The motive for the shooting was unclear.
“An unidentified person at the King Abdul Aziz naval base in Jubail opened fire on George Papes, an American working for a company under contract with the naval forces,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the spokesman as saying.
Papes was taken to a hospital in the industrial city where he was “in good condition,” the ministry spokesman said.
He added that the gunman had fled but was being sought by security forces.
A US diplomat told Arab News that the victim was an American civilian working for a contractor here. The diplomat said Papes was shot four times and had been taken to a local hospital where he was in the intensive care unit and expected to recover. The diplomat could not confirm the man’s name as his next of kin had not yet been notified.
King Abdulaziz Naval Base is a Saudi base where Americans train Saudi Naval personnel. It was established more than a decade ago and is adjacent to the King Fahd Port and Jubail Industrial City. It is a non-residential area and there is no significant security presence there.
The US Embassy in Riyadh warned Americans on Wednesday that terrorist groups may be in the final phases of planning attacks against the community in the Kingdom.
Two months earlier the United States urged all its nationals here to leave and reduced its diplomatic presence in the kingdom due to the US-led war in Iraq, which was widely criticized here. The United States this week withdrew most of its troops from Prince Sultan Air Base to Qatar.
