6 people arrested in connection with shooting near US embassy in Beirut: Lebanese army

LONDON — Six people, including the suspected gunman, were arrested in connection with a shooting Wednesday morning near the entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, that left a Lebanese security guard injured, authorities said.

At around 8:34 a.m. local time, shots from “small arms” were heard, the embassy said.

The suspected gunman was shot by the Lebanese army and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, local authorities said. The suspect, a Syrian national, was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment, the Lebanese army said on its official social media account in Arabic.

The Lebanese army command said it had since arrested five more people in connection with the shooting. These included three family members of the suspected gunman, as well as a Syrian and a Lebanese citizen who were suspected of having had a relationship with him, it said.

“The army continues its raids in parallel with the investigations under the supervision of the competent judiciary,” the Lebanese army command said in a statement.

The motive for the shooting is currently unknown.

Following the incident, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Wednesday on Good Morning America that all American personnel in Lebanon were “safe and missing.”

“One of our Lebanese guards was injured. He is being treated,” he said.

The embassy was scheduled to remain closed to the public on Wednesday but is expected to reopen on Thursday, U.S. authorities said in a security alert.

“The investigation is ongoing and we are in close contact with the host country’s law enforcement authorities,” embassy officials said on social media.