AMMAN — The Jordanian government spokesman says a shooting spree at a police training center that killed five people, including two American instructors, took place in a canteen in the compound.
Monday’s shooting also killed a South African and two Jordanians who were identified as translators by a news website close to the security forces. One of the Jordanians was buried Tuesday.
The assailant, a Jordanian police captain, was killed. The attack also wounded six people, including two Americans.
Officials have released few details, but government spokesman Mohammed Momani confirmed Tuesday that the attacker opened fire in a canteen.
Images circulating on social media showed three large pools of blood on the floor of a cafeteria.
The attacker’s motives are under investigation. His family says he was not an extremist.
US President Barack Obama said he was treating very seriously the attack at the King Abdullah Training Center, and a full investigation was under way.
A senior Jordanian official told Reuters the gunman was a police captain, and authorities identified him as Anwar Abu Zeid. There was no immediate word on the motive for the attack.
“This incident sadly does not come as a surprise, as the threat of terrorism has only increased in the region in the last few years in the aftermath of Syria and Iraq. As much as pre-emptive measures have been taken, it is impossible to eradicate all risks,” said a senior Jordanian official who requested anonymity, citing political sensitivities.
Obama told reporters at the White House: “The fact that someone dressed in military uniform carried out an attack at a training facility in (Jordan)... we take this very seriously, and we’ll be working closely with the Jordanians to determine exactly what happened.”
The shooting spree took place on the 10th anniversary of Al-Qaeda suicide bombings that targeted three Amman luxury hotels and killed 57 people, the deadliest militant attack in Jordanian history.
Security sources said several earlier militant plots to attack the King Abdullah training centre had been foiled.
Momani, the government spokesman, said the attacker was shot dead by Jordanian security forces inside the training centre. He did not commit suicide as security sources had earlier reported.
Relatives of the suspect gathered at his home in a village near the northern town of Jerash, expressing disbelief the 29- year-old father of two could have committed the attack.
His uncle, Sulaiman Abu Zeid, said his nephew, who had served in the police force for 11 years, was a pious Muslim who did not harbor radical beliefs.
“My nephew was not an extremist but he was pious and prayed every single prayer. If they consider this as extremism, then it’s their business,” his uncle told Reuters, adding the family would not take the body “until the truth was uncovered.”
