US embassy cable - 03SANAA511

C O N F I D E N T I A L SANAA 000511 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TERREP 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/18/2010 
TAGS: PTER, ASEC, CASC, YM 
SUBJECT: YEMEN: FOUR HUNT OIL EMPLOYEES SHOT, THREE FATALLY 
 
Classified By: AMB: EJHULL FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D) 
 
1.  (C) Four Hunt Oil employees working at a Hunt rig in 
Marib were shot by a Yemeni employee shortly before 1215 
hours local March 18.  Ron Horsch, an American citizen, was 
killed, as was William Seville, a Canadian, and Anam 
Al-Qubati, a Yemeni.  Another Canadian, Mark Edwards, has two 
gunshot wounds, to the abdomen and to the leg, and will 
shortly be transferred to the Yemen-German Hospital in Sanaa. 
 The assailant was a Yemeni, Naji Ahmed Al-Kumaym, working at 
the Hunt site, an employee of the Nabors firm.  After 
shooting Horsch, Seville, and Edwards, Al-Kumaym shot himself 
dead. 
 
2.  (C) Karim Abu Hamad of Hunt, our source for the above 
information, indicated that Al-Kumaym, as a Nabors employee, 
was a familiar presence at the Marib site.  He was reportedly 
carrying a concealed handgun which he used as the fatal 
weapon.  Abu Hamad said that Hunt has shut down the rig, 
alerted all employees to hunker down and maintain security; 
Hunt headquarters in Dallas has been informed, as have ROYG 
security officials and President Salih's office. 
 
3.  (C) We are maintaining contact with Hunt.  We are 
offering medical assistance if necessary, and following up 
regarding contacts with next-of-kin and arrangements for Mr. 
Horsch.  We have alerted the Operations Center by phone and 
the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh.  We are initiating contact 
with the Ministry of Interior to launch an immediate 
investigation, including the FBI representative at post, and 
are also in touch through liaison channels with PSO. 
 
4.  (C) Comment: At this initial stage, it is not possible to 
determine if these Hunt shootings were motivated by 
terrorism, by a job-related grievance, or by al-Kumaym's 
personal sense of grievance in the heated environment of 
regional developments. 
HULL