Friend says Jason Spindler was "one of those rare men who was loved by pretty much anyone" as officials put death toll from al-Shabab attack at 21
Updated on: January 16,2019 / 7:04 PM
/ CBS/AP
Nairobi, Kenya — An American businessman has been identified as one of at least 21 people killed in the terror attack on an upmarket hotel complex in Nairobi, plus the five militants killed, according to police. Two people accused of facilitating the attack have been arrested. Some 28 other people were hurt and hospitalized.
Of the civilian victims, 16 were Kenyan, one was British, one was American and three were of African descent, but their nationalities were not yet identified, police said.
Jason Spindler, the director of a business development firm who was based in the Kenyan capital, was killed in Tuesday’s attack according to officials in Kenya. His family and friends have also spoken about his death.
Spindler’s friend Chris Schroeder remembered him in a Facebook post as “one of those rare men who was loved by pretty much anyone he touched in Kenya and around the world.” Schroeder said Spindler, “chose a life of hope and inclusion. I am grateful to have known and learned from him.”
The slain American’s family said in posts on social media that he was a survivor of the Sept. 11,2001, terror attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, where he was living and working at the time.
The U. S. State Department has confirmed that an American citizen was among those killed, but had still not formally released the victim’s identity as of Wednesday. CBS News saw at least one U. S. Embassy official at the morgue in Nairobi on Wednesday.
Jason Spindler was one of those rare men who was loved by pretty much anyone be touched in Kenya and around the world. Today he was killed in the terrible al shabab attack in Nairobi. He chose a life of hope and inclusion. I am grateful to have known and learned from him. pic.twitter.com/B4YnxB6bic
Kenya’s president said Wednesday that security forces had killed the Islamic extremist gunmen whose assault on the luxury hotel and shopping complex took “innocent lives.”
“All the terrorists have been eliminated,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in announcing an end to the operation to secure the complex in Nairobi.
In a televised address, Kenyatta didn’t say how many attackers were involved. He said more than 700 people were evacuated during the security operation and he urged Kenyans to “go back to work without fear,” saying the East African country is safe for citizens and visitors.
Hours before Kenyatta spoke, sporadic gunfire could be heard from the scene after scores of people were rescued at daybreak during what police called a mopping-up exercise.
Al-Shabab — the Somalia-based extremist group that is allied to al Qaeda — claimed responsibility for the carnage at the DusitD2 hotel complex, which includes bars, restaurants, offices and banks and is in Nairobi’s well-to-do Westlands neighborhood, frequented by foreigners. Al-Shabab carried out the 2013 attack at the nearby Westgate Mall in Nairobi that killed 67 people.
Authorities sent special forces into the hotel to flush out the gunmen. Early Wednesday, Kenya’s Interior Ministry said in a tweet that all buildings had been secured and there was no further threat. At dawn, another explosion and gunfire were heard.
“To God be the Glory. We have been rescued. Over 50 people in my group. No injuries,” tweeted a Kenyan businesswoman, Aggie Asiimwe Konde.
