James Damon Creach, a married Tampa father of three, is one of two Florida men killed by a gunman who attacked a training site in Jordan for Palestinian police.
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The dead included the shooter, a former Jordanian police officer, who was reported killed in a firefight with security forces.
James Creach and Lloyd “Carl” Fields Jr. were shot and killed in the facility on the outskirts of Amman on Monday. “Our thoughts and prayers are with their families, friends and colleagues”.
Fields’ wife released this statement Monday: “Carl loved what he did training Jordanian police officers overseas and was one of the most patriotic people I have ever known. We’re supporting our team members and their families and working closely with both the USA and Jordanian governments in taking care of our injured and deceased personnel”. Jordan has since taken up an aggressive and very public position in the region’s fight against Daesh, conducting airstrikes with the US-led campaign and allowing US-backed training sites for Syrian rebels battling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Obama also said the attacker was wearing a military uniform.
Jordanian Interior Minister, Salameh Hammad, said on Tuesday that Jordan was ready to face any attacks against the security of the Kingdom.
Jordan has been a staunch US ally in the fight against the Islamic State and has been relatively a stable country in a volatile region. The two wounded Americans are also civilians, the State Department said. The program has since been suspended.
The shooting bears a resemblance to insider attacks that were common in Afghanistan, where police or soldiers attacked Americans training them.
It was not clear if there was a political motive to the shooting spree.
The company did not release Creach’s name, but Gov. Scott identified him in his release.
The shooting rampage killed five people total and took place in a dining hall in the compound, Jordanian government spokesman Mohammed Momani said Tuesday. Hours before the shooting. Jordan’s King Abdullah II and his wife, Queen Rania, had commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the suicide bombing of three luxury hotels in Amman that killed 60 people and wounded more than 100 others.
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The American security company he worked for, DynCorp, said the 37-year-old was survived by his fiancée and his parents.
