Two people killed after ‘disgruntled teacher’ opens fire at Saudi international school attended by US kids
Members of staff shot as 'disgruntled former employee opens fire'
TWO people were killed and another injured when a man opened fire inside a private school's administration building in Saudi Arabia today.
The US Embassy said there were no children present during the attack on the Kingdom School in Riyadh but two members of staff have been killed.
The shooting was "a case of a disgruntled employee," said Talal al-Maiman, CEO of Kingdom Holding and chairman of Kingdom Schools, which operated the school.
"It is with regret that the administration building of Kingdom Schools witnessed this morning a shooting incident by an Arab national who was dismissed from the school four years ago on the basis of anger issues and an unstable personality," he told Reuters.
The victims were a Saudi national and a Palestinian national, he said, and the situation at the school was contained as of mid-afternoon.
The school had been closed about a week before the Ramadan holiday, in line with a royal decree.
The holiday began on Saturday.
Police cars could be seen at the school campus, but the scene was otherwise quiet.
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The US Embassy in Saudi Arabia said there had been a shooting but no children were present at the time.
It tweeted: “There has been a shooting at Kingdom School in Riyadh, shooter still at school. School closed, no children present. Please avoid area."
It added: “Ongoing security incident at Kingdom School as of 3:00pm local time (1pm UK). Please avoid area due to heavy police presence.”
The school's website said it is part of the GEMS global network of schools and is owned and operated by a company of billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. It is a girls' and boys' school from kindergarten through grade 12.
In Saudi Arabia, males and females are segregated by grade 4.
The Saudi Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
An Interior Ministry spokesman said it was a "criminal case" and that Riyadh Police would issue a statement with further details.
Kingdom Schools is owned and operated by Kingdom Holdings, a company of Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. It is situated in northern Riyadh.
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