Briton shot dead in Texas bar

A British man was shot dead when a gunman opened fire after walking into a bar in the United States, it was disclosed today.

Thomas Reeve, 28, was killed in Amarillo, Texas, after shots were fired at several drinkers, Britain's Foreign Office confirmed.

The attacker also robbed and sexually assaulted other customers, it was alleged.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm the death of Thomas Reeve and we are providing consular assistance to the family.”

According to US reports, Ray Carlos Cisneros, 25, was being questioned over the shooting.

Local police said Mr Reeve, who was travelling across the US with two friends, had only arrived in Amarillo hours before the shooting, at the Spotted Pony bar in the 2042 Paramount district, on Thursday night US time.

He died at Northwest Texas Hospital after being shot in the torso. An autopsy was being performed in Lubbock, according to reports.

The gunman, who struck other customers in the bar, hitting them either with his fist or handgun, took purses, wallets and money from the bar’s cash register and forced one woman to remove some of her clothing, according to officers.

Mr Reeve, who was drinking in the bar with two friends, had rented a car in California and stopped in Amarillo on a trip to Florida.

Police interviewed about 20 people who were in the bar during the shooting and reviewed a videotape of the episode, the Amarillo Globe-News reported.

Adam Cox, from local radio station KGNC, told BBC News 24: “It made our hearts sink and you hate to see things happen like that.

“We don’t have any motive yet but we do know that the man had been there earlier in the day.”