US consular worker held for murder in Pakistan

A U.S. consular worker has appeared in a Pakistan court charged with murder after allegedly shooting two Pakistanis he feared were trying to rob him in the eastern city of Lahore, according to reports.

A third Pakistani was reportedly killed by a U.S. consulate vehicle as it rushed to the aid of Raymond Davis after he apparently called the mission for help.

Davis allegedly shot and killed the two men when they approached him on a motorcycle shortly after he had withdrawn money from an ATM in the eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, Fox News reported.

According to Fox News, the police said Davis believed the men intended to rob him in his car on a crowded street. He apparently produced a Bareta and opened fire.

One gunman was reportedly killed at the scene by four separate shots. The second died later in the hospital from three rounds.

The consulate has said it will surrender the vehicle and the driver to police for the official investigation.

The Lahore court ordered Davis to remain in police custody for six days, according to the Washington Post. Rana Sanaullah, the law minister for Punjab province, of which Lahore is the capital, told reporters that Davis had also been charged with illegal weapons possession.

In a two-sentence statement Friday, the U.S. embassy confirmed that a consulate staffer "was involved in an incident yesterday that regrettably resulted in the loss of life."

A Pakistani police officer described Davis, said to be from Virginia, as a “security official” at the Lahore consulate while others said he called himself a “technical adviser” to the authorities, Fox reported.

Davis apologized to the two men’s families.