Mexico arrests suspect in shooting of US official

A man suspected of shooting and wounding a US consular agent in Mexico's Guadalajara city has been arrested, Mexican officials said.

The state prosecutor's office (FGE) said on Twitter on Sunday that "Special Forces of the FGE arrested the consular agent's attacker," and handed him over to the federal Attorney General's Office (PGR), Xinhua news agency reported.

According to local media, the man arrested is a 31-year-old US citizen of Indian descent named Zafar Zia, who has been living in Guadalajara since November.

As part of the arrest, the daily Reforma reported, officials also seized a .38-caliber pistol, small amounts of marijuana and a Honda with California license plates.

The motive for the shooting was a disagreement over a visa procedure, the daily said, though officials have yet to confirm any details.

The consular agent was shot on Friday as he was driving out of a building in the city's central Vallarta Norte district.

Video footage released on Saturday by the US embassy in Mexico showed the suspect waiting on the sidewalk for the agent to leave the building in his car before firing from a few meters away, and breaking a window.

Following the attack, US officials offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to the identification of the suspect, who appears in the video wearing hospital-style blue scrubs, a wig and sunglasses.

--IANS

pgh/