This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/world/middleeast/american-in-benghazi-killed.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Gunmen Kill American Teacher in Benghazi Gunmen Kill American Teacher in Benghazi
(about 3 hours later)
BENGHAZI, Libya — Gunmen on Thursday shot and killed a United States citizen who had been working as a teacher in an English-language school here, according to Libyan security officials and residents of the neighborhood where the attack took place. BENGHAZI, Libya — Unidentified men gunned down an American chemistry teacher here on Thursday morning as he went for a jog outside his home, according to Libyan security officials and the director of the teacher’s school.
The administrator at the International School in Benghazi, where the victim had taught chemistry, identified him as Ronnie Smith, 33, from Texas, and said he had been living in the city for 13 months with his wife and young son. A colleague identified the teacher as Ronnie Smith, 33, of Texas. Libyan security officials said they had not yet determined a motive for the killing, which came during a weekslong surge of assassinations and armed clashes in cities across the country.
Residents said he had been out jogging in the upscale Fuwayhat neighborhood when he was attacked. One person who claimed to have witnessed the shooting said the gunmen had been driving a black jeep. The State Department confirmed that an American citizen had been shot and killed in Benghazi, without providing further details.
A security official, speaking on Libyan television after the shooting, said the authorities had not determined the motive behind the attack. “The assassination of the American teacher is a continuation of a series of assassinations that the city is going through,” the official said. Many foreigners long ago fled Benghazi, the birthplace of the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in 2011 and now a symbol of Libya’s growing anarchy. There has been a string of extremist attacks on diplomats and other foreigners, most notably the September 2012 killing of the American ambassador, J. Christopher Stevens.
Benghazi, the birthplace of the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi three years ago, has been troubled by assassinations and militia violence ever since and was the site last year of the attack on the American diplomatic compound that killed the United States ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Assassinations of security officers or former Qaddafi officials are reported almost daily. The city’s unaccountable militias are the biggest challenge to the government’s control. Last week, at least nine people were killed as a militia linked to the killing of Mr. Stevens, Ansar al-Shariah, battled a local military unit. On Thursday, at least four security officials were assassinated in Benghazi.
In Washington, a State Department spokeswoman, Marie Harf, confirmed that an American citizen had been shot and killed in Benghazi but would not immediately offer further details, and said questions about the investigation of the killing should be directed at the Libyan authorities. Despite all the violence, Mr. Smith, who had been in Benghazi for 13 months, “never thought for a moment he would be targeted,” said Adel Mansouri, the director of the International School in Benghazi, where Mr. Smith taught chemistry to secondary school students.
“We are in contact with the family and are providing all appropriate consular assistance,” Ms. Harf said in an emailed statement. “Out of respect for the privacy of those affected, we have no further comment at this time.” On Thursday morning, Mr. Mansouri said, he received a call from Mr. Smith’s landlord telling him about the shooting, and went to identify the teacher’s body, which was lying outside his house in an upscale neighborhood near Dubai Street.
In a photograph circulating on social media that purported to show the man’s body, he was face down, wearing running gear and earphones, with what appeared to blood pooling at his side. The authenticity of the photograph could not immediately be confirmed. “He liked it there,” Mr. Mansouri said. “He felt very safe. He jogged every day.”

Suliman Ali Zway reported from Benghazi, Libya, and Kareem Fahim from Cairo. Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York.

Mr. Smith lived in Benghazi with his wife and young son, who were in the United States at the time of the attack. Mr. Mansouri called Mr. Smith the most popular teacher in the school. He was active on Twitter, where he interacted with students, kept what amounted to a diary of his life in Benghazi and called himself “Libya’s Best Friend.”
Several entries voiced frustration with the city and its residents. At other times, he praised the place. “There’s one thing Libyans are good at: making foreigners feel like family,” he wrote on Oct. 20.
In several entries, he poked fun at the militants. On Oct. 24, he wrote: “Where’s Ansar Al-Sharia when you need them? Someone make a call and tell them boys and girls making out here.” In another entry, he called Libyan Islamists “losers.”
On Nov. 25, the day members of Ansar al-Shariah were driven from their base in Benghazi after armed clashes, Mr. Smith wrote: “More like Ansar Al-see ya!”
A man reached by telephone in Michigan who identified himself as Mr. Smith’s brother-in-law declined to comment on his death. “If you could give us a couple of days, that would be great,” said the man, who identified himself only as Jason. “We just found out about an hour ago.”
The University of Texas at Austin, where Mr. Smith earned a master’s degree in chemistry in 2006, released a statement calling his death “a tragedy for the campus and our nation.”
Mr. Smith’s students in Benghazi posted numerous recollections online on Thursday. “He was one of the very few who didn’t leave Libya when all the others did,” one girl wrote.
They also posted pictures, including one of his wedding, and another of him standing in a yard with his wife and son. Another appeared to show him after he was shot, still wearing running clothes and his earphones, with blood pooling at his side.
“Is this a robbery, or terrorism? We just don’t know,” Mr. Mansouri said.

Suliman Ali Zway reported from Benghazi, and Kareem Fahim from Cairo. Rick Gladstone contributed reporting from New York, and Manny Fernandez  from Houston.