Man pleads guilty to shooting US diplomat in Mexico

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A California man has pleaded guilty to shooting a U.S. diplomat in Mexico.

Zia Zafar entered guilty pleas in a Virginia federal court Friday to attempted murder of an internationally protected person and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The 33-year-old Zafar, of Chino Hills, California, admitted shooting and wounding a vice consul in Guadalajara on Jan. 6, 2017.

Zafar is scheduled for sentencing Nov. 7. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison for attempted murder and a mandatory minimum of 10 years on the firearm charge.

U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger said Zafar targeted Christopher Ashcraft because he represented the U.S.

The charges were filed in Virginia because Zafar was brought into the country in the Eastern District of Virginia, where Dulles International Airport is located.