American Teacher Killed In Iraq During Argument With Student

An argument between an American gym teacher and a Kurdish student at a Christian school in Iraq turned deadly Thursday when the student pulled out a gun hidden in his clothes. Sulaimaniya city authorities say 18-year-old Biyar Sarwar shot and killed his teacher, Washington state native Jeremiah Small, before committing suicide.

It is unclear what Small and Sarwar were arguing about, but local authorities say the shooting does not appear to be motivated by religious or extremists beliefs. The incident is under investigation.

"This is not a religious or political motivation behind this shooting. It's just another criminal incident. However, the investigation is still ongoing,” Sulaimaniya Mayor Zana Mohammed Saleh told CNN.

Small taught at the Classical School of the Medes as part of work with Servant Group International (SGI), a Nashville, Tennessee based on-profit Christian organization that runs local and Iraqi programs that benefit Muslims. SGI helped found the three Medes schools in northern Iraq between 2000 and 2003. Small had worked with the Medes schools since 2005.

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