Lebanon: Man arrested over shooting close to US Embassy in Awkar

The embassy is located close to Awkar region in northeast Beirut.

One private embassy guard was slightly injured in the incident, a Lebanese security source told The National.

The US Embassy in Lebanon posted on X: "At 8:34 a.m. local time, small arms fire was reported in the vicinity of the entrance to the U.S. Embassy. Thanks to the quick reaction of the LAF, ISF, and our Embassy security team, our facility and our team are safe. Investigations are underway and we are in close contact with host country law enforcement."

The Lebanese Armed Forces said the gunman was a Syrian national who was also wounded in the shootout.

“Army members deployed in the area responded to the sources of fire, wounding the shooter. He was arrested and transferred to a hospital for treatment,” the army told the newspaper.

"We won’t know what his motivations were, who he was with, or if it was planned, until after we investigate and look into his background," a security source told The National.

The Lebanese Army said they are inspecting the area where the attack took place.

A video of the incident has gone viral where a gunman could be seen opening fire close to the Embassy.

“He’s been shooting at the embassy for a while now, no one has stopped him. He’s just walking up and down," a witness could be heard saying in one of the videos as quoted by The National.

Roads leading to the embassy from Dbayeh and Awkar have been closed down following the incident.

Security forces are currently checking the cars and other vehicles in the region.