American shot dead in Saudi Arabian capital

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A gunman on Tuesday opened fire on American employees of a U.S. defense contractor, killing one and wounding the other at a gas station in Saudi Arabia's capital, security and diplomatic officials said.

The pair were in car accompanied by a third colleague that was fired upon in an eastern district of Riyadh, the Saudi Embassy in Washington D.C. said in a press release. The third colleague was unharmed in the incident.

The Americans were employees of Vinnell Arabia, a U.S. defense contractor supporting Saudi National Guard military programs in Riyadh, and were shot about a half-mile from its facility in the city, a State Department official said.

Police said the attack happened when the trio stopped their vehicle at a filling station.

The gunman was identified by the Saudi Embassy as Abdulaziz Fahad Abdulaziz Alrashid, a 24-year-old dual Saudi-American citizen who was born in Washington state.

"Alrashid worked at the same company as the victims, and was recently dismissed from his job due to drug related issues," the embassy stated, adding he had traveled to "Bahrain, France, Germany, UAE, USA and, most recently, to Bahrain in October 2014."

A Riyadh police spokesman was quoted by the Saudi Press Agency as saying Saudi security forces tracked down the gunman and exchanged fire with him, before wounding and arresting him.

A law enforcement source told CBS News the shooting appears to be an isolated incident. The source said no motive has been established yet. No travel alerts being issued.

The site of the attack is also near the Saudi National Guard headquarters.

The attack was likely to send chills through the Western expatriate workforce in the kingdom.

In September, Saudi police said they had arrested 88 people suspected of being part of an al Qaeda cell that was planning attacks inside and outside the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia and four other Arab countries are taking part in U.S.-led airstrikes against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as well as al Qaeda fighters in Iraq and Syria. Militants have vowed revenge.

ISIS' spokesman has also urged sympathizers to kill Americans and those from other countries that are carrying out airstrikes against the group.

Attacks by al Qaeda militants from 2003 to 2007 were aimed at destabilizing and toppling the Western-allied monarchy. Among the most stunning attacks were deadly bombings of residential compounds in Riyadh where foreigners lived in 2003. Saudi officials responded at the time with a massive crackdown that saw many al Qaeda operatives killed or arrested. Others fled to neighboring Yemen, giving birth to one of the group's most active branches.

The last reported killings of Westerners by armed assailants in Saudi Arabia happened in 2007 when three French nationals were shot dead while camping in the northwest of the country. The group of French travelers were resting on the side of a road when gunmen fired at their car, instantly killing two of the men.