December 6, 2013
TWITTER
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The 33-year-old chemistry teacher had planned to return to the U.S. next week to visit family for Christmas. The Texan worked at the International School Benghazi and was shot while going for a morning jog. The White House put pressure on the fragile Libyan government to find the killers.
BY STEPHEN REX BROWN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013, 8:42 AM
UPDATED: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2013, 5:24 PM
American chemistry teacher Ronnie Smith was shot dead Thursday in Benghazi as he jogged by the site of the notorious attack on a U.S. consulate.
Gunmen shot dead an American teaching chemistry in Benghazi Thursday as he jogged by the site of the notorious attack on a U.S. consulate.
Ronnie Smith, 33, of Texas, had planned to return to the U.S. next week to visit family for Christmas, NBC News reported.
He had taught at the school for about 18 months. Before that, he had been a staff member at the Austin Stone Community Church in Texas, according to a pastor.
"It is with a heavy heart that we confirm that our dear friend Ronnie Smith passed away in Benghazi, Libya," said Dave Barrett, executive pastor of operations, in a statement released Thursday.
No one took responsibility for Smith's death, though the Islamic militants active in the notorious city were immediately suspected.
Smith, who received a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Texas, worked at the International School Benghazi.
He described himself on Twitter as “Libya’s best friend.”
MUSTAFA EL-SHRIDI/EPA
A man holds a gun in the air next to burning buildings at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi on Sept. 11, 2012. Libyan officials said Thursday an American teacher was shot and killed in the troubled city.
"He was doing his morning exercise when gunmen just shot him. I don't know why. He was so sweet with everyone," said Adel al Mansouri, a manager at the Libyan-owned school that teaches an American curriculum.
A spokeswoman for the Al-Galaa hospital where Smith's body was taken said he had been shot multiple times.
Smith's wife, Anita, and their young son had already arrived in Texas for the holidays, according to the church's statement. "Ronnie's greatest desire was for peace and prosperity in Libya and for the people of Libya to have the joy of knowing God through Christ," it said.
The instructor had stayed behind "out of a sense of dedication" to help his students with mid-terms, then was scheduled to join his family in Austin. "Many of us knew Ronnie and his family well ... (they) were planning to spend time before Christmas with us here in Austin. Anita and their son had returned to the U.S. and are safe with family," the statement said.
The church's website also said the couple had been married for 10 years, and that Smith was orginally from Michigan. He has three sisters. By late Thursday, that information, which also described Smith as an avid sportsman fond of tennis, had been removed from the site.
The Obama administration quickly put pressure on the fragile Libyan government to investigate Smith’s death.
MOHAMMAD HANNON/AP
Protestors in Benghazi burned an American flag three days after the coordinated attack on the U.S. consulate there in 2012.
"We look to the Libyan government to thoroughly investigate this killing," spokesman Jay Carney said, adding that the State Department was in touch with the victim’s family.
People who identified themselves as friends and students of Smith grieved on Twitter.
Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city, was the site of an attack by Islamist militants on a U.S. consulate in 2012 on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Four Americans were killed, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens.
The attack revealed critical weaknesses in consulates’ security policy. The Obama administration faced withering criticism for its handling of the aftermath of the attack.
Since the death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 Libya has been in a perpetual state of instability.
The armed groups instrumental in the overthrow of the longtime dictator now control large swaths of territory, stalling efforts to democratize the oil-rich North African country.
With News Wire Services
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