British tourist reported killed in Amman attack

A British tourist was reported to have been killed today when a gunman shot at a group of foreign tourists in Amman’s Roman Amphitheatre in the Jordanian capital.

Five other tourists and a police officer were injured, officials said.

Police overpowered the gunman at the scene and arrested him, said government spokesman Nasser Judeh.

Preliminary reports suggested that one tourist, said to be British, died of his wounds, he said. But he noted that authorities were still checking the information.

The official said the tourists, who were of different nationalities, were taken to a nearby state hospital. He said he could not identify their nationalities at this time.

Judeh said the attack took place in broad daylight as the tourists visited the popular attraction in Amman’s bustling downtown district.

An eyewitness reported hearing gun shots ring the area, where the incident took place.

The gunman, clean shaven and his mid-30s, surprised the tourists from the opposite side, wielding a gun and shouting the battle cry of Allahu akbar, or God is Great, before he fired several shots directly at them, said the eyewitness, Mohammad Jawad Ali, an Iraqi.

He said he spoke to one of the wounded tourists, who said she was from New Zealand. He said the woman told him that the man who died was British.

He said the attack took place at 12.30pm (10.30am Irish time).