Mexico hunting for shooter of US official

MEXICAN authorities are on the hunt for a gunman who was disguised as a female nurse when he shot and wounded a US consular official in Guadalajara.

The US Consulate in Guadalajara posted a video on Facebook on Saturday showing the shooter, dressed in blue and wearing a wig, waiting outside a shopping centre’s garage at 6:20pm on Friday (00:20 GMT on Saturday). He then raises his gun and fires at the car before fleeing.

The shooting left a bullet impact on the car window while the US Consular official is seen opening his door.

Moments before the shooting video from different cameras showed the official, dressed in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, paying his parking ticket at an automated machine. The gunman is seen following him.

“According to the four videos, it was a direct attack,” Jalisco state Attorney General Eduard Almaguer Ramirez said.

The gunman was wearing a wig and a blue nurse uniform, Almaguer said.

The US official, who is in stable condition, interviews visa applicants at the consulate, Almaguer said.

A US government official told AFP on condition of anonymity that the official is a vice consul, adding that no motive for the shooting has been established.

The western city of Guadalajara has been hit by violence perpetrated by the powerful Jalisco New Generation drug cartel in recent years.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation offered a $20,000 reward for information about the shooter. The FBI is helping with the investigation, Almaguer said.

The embassy issued a security message later Saturday urging US citizens in Guadalajara to “restrict their movements outside their homes and places of work to those truly essential”.