SAUDI ARABIA - An American security contractor was killed and another was wounded on Tuesday after a violent attack by a colleague at a gas station in the capital of Riyadh, the Interior Ministry said.

The two Americans, both employees of the security firm Northrop Grumman subsidiary Vinnell Arabia, were shot at a gas station half a mile away from their company's headquarters, said U.S. State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki.

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Saudi police who were first on the scene exchanged gunfire with the suspect before the latter was shot and detained, said state-owned media agency SPA.

The gunman, who was later identified as Saudi-American dual citizen Abdulaziz Fahad Abdulaziz Alrashid, was an employee of the same company who was recently fired for drug-related matters.

According to an anonymous source, Alrashid, 24, believed the American he killed had informed Vinnell Arabia of his alleged drug use that led to his dismissal.

Later, VP for Strategic Communications at Northrop Grumman Randy Belote offered condolences to the families of the Vinnelli Arabia employees who died.

While the incident appears to have been workplace-related, investigations are still underway. The U.S. government is working closely with Saudi officials to determine the details of the shooting and the motive, Psaki said.

The U.S. embassy in Saudi is expected to issue a security advisory for all American citizens in the region to inform them of the situation and other safety precautions available to them, she added.

Riyadh, which has joined forces with the U.S. to destroy the militant group Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL), has maintained a long-standing relationship with the U.S.

But anti-West sentiments are still prevalent in some parts of the country and have encountered acts of terrorism over the years. Concurrently, evidence of Saudi citizens joining the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has intensified fears the nationals would return home to carry out extremist attacks.

TagsAmerican overseas workers, Vinnell Arabia