Security guard at Ethiopian Embassy shoots at protesters

On the 29th of September, a security guard at the Embassy of Ethiopia fired one shot from his sidearm at protesters opposing the current government of Ethiopia who appeared to have succeeded in entering the Embassy courtyard. Secret Service arrested the security guard, fortunately his bullet missed all the protesters. It did smash a window in a bystander's car.

Youtube video of security guard shooting at protesters

None of the mainstream press reports or even Twitter stories I have been able to find discussed the subject of the protest beyond the phrase "antigovernment protesters." The government of Ethiopia has apparently developed a reputation for using harsh "anti-terror" laws to suppress protest, only to face a recent wave of protest by Muslims angry about violations of their rights. The country reported to be about 60% Christian and about 30% Muslim, the current government is said to draw enough protest that government officials have resorted to usng Skype to meet instead of attempting to travel to meet in person.

This is the third time in about ten years I have heard of guns drawn on protesters in DC, and the first time I've heard of one fired at protesters. I was present myself at a 2009 protest of former Mayor Williams (then a real estate developer), when an armored car guard wanted to carry his shipment past where we were standing-and drew his gun on us when we refused to move. We stood our ground while I loudly ordered him to "holster that sidearm" which he was holding at a 45% angle to the ground. Finally he got control of himself, put away the gun, and had the truck moved to a better location. The other time was an incident somewhere in the same time period where a corporate executive facing HLS protesters outside his home late at night called the cops and falsely reported a home invasion. That call brought cops with guns drawn against the protesters until they realized they had been lied to.

Fox News, of all people, identified the shooter in this case as a security guard working at the Embassy itself. This is way out of line: when I've been at protests that stormed the grounds of the Canadian Embassy or even gone inside we've never been shot at!

Still cropped from the Youtube video. The gun in in the right hand of the man wearing the black suit. When it was fired the camera was pointing too low. Thankfully the gun was also pointed in an ineffective direction when it was fired!

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