Riyadh school shooting: Gunman kills two people in rampage at private school in Saudi Arabia

Officials describe shooter as 'disgruntled employee' and say attack was not terror-related

Two people have been killed by a "disgruntled employee" who opened fire at a private school in Saudi Arabia.

The US mission said there were no children present during the attack on the Kingdom School in Riyadh.

Government-linked Saudi newspaper Okaz reported that the shooter was an Iraqi teacher who had been fired from the school.

Local reports that the victims were the school's principal and a teacher had been killed could not immediately be confirmed.

Talal al-Maiman, the chairman of Kingdom Schools, described the shooting as “a case of a disgruntled employee".

“It is with regret that the administration building of Kingdom Schools witnessed this morning a shooting incident by an Arab national who was dismissed from the school four years ago on the basis of anger issues and an unstable personality,” he told Reuters.

The victims were a Saudi national and a Palestinian national, he said, while a third person was injured in the rampage. The security situation at the school has been contained.

A spokesperson for the Saudi interior ministry said the attack was being treated as a “criminal case”, rather than a terror investigation.

Saudi Arabian schools are currently closed for the summer holidays, which started before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

On its website, the Kingdom School says it operates separate facilities for boys and girls at elementary, intermediate and secondary levels, incorporating international programmes.

The complex sits in the upmarket al-Shemal district of Riyadh, which houses international bodies, hospitals and restaurants.

The school, opened in 2000, is operated by a company owned by billionaire Prince al-Waleed bin Talaal.

Additional reporting by Reuters