The main entrance to the United States Embassy in Awkar, north of Beirut, was targeted by gunfire on Sept. 20, 2023. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)
Lebanon's Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced Thursday that the man who fired a gun at the entrance to the American Embassy in Beirut last month confessed to previously firing at other diplomatic representations.
According to a police statement, the 27-year-old Lebanese suspect "confessed to opening fire at the embassies compound in Zoqaq al-Blat [Beirut] on Aug. 25, 2023, after explaining that he had an altercation with a diplomatic convoy a few days earlier while driving on the Ring highway."
ISF did not specify how many embassies were included in the earlier attack.
According to the ISF press release, "a ballistic comparison between the weapon found in the individual's possession and the empty casings discovered at the scene of the shootings proved positive."
During the Sept. 20 attack on the American Embassy, the man fired several shots at the embassy entrance, but no injuries were reported.
In a statement published on Sept. 28, ISF revealed that the shooter was a delivery driver who sought "revenge" after he was reportedly humiliated by security personnel at the American embassy.
The individual was handed over to the competent authorities and legal proceedings were initiated against him. Investigations are continuing to determine the suspect's exact motives and whether he acted alone or with accomplices.
