Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
March 15, 2017
The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice Program is offering a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction in any country of any individual who committed, conspired to commit, or aided or abetted in the commission of the murder of U.S. citizen Joel Shrum.
On March 18, 2012, Shrum, 29, was shot and killed on his way to work in Taizz, Yemen, by a gunman riding on the back of a motorcycle that had pulled up alongside his vehicle. At the time of his death, Shrum was an administrator and English teacher at the International Training and Development Center, one of the longest standing international development organizations in Yemen.
A few days after the attack, the terrorist organization Al Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) claimed responsibility for the murder.
More information about this reward offer is located on the Rewards for Justice website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on this case to contact the Rewards for Justice office via the website, e-mail (info@rewardsforjustice.net), phone (1-800-877-3927 in North America), or mail (Rewards for Justice, Washington, D.C., 20520-0303, USA). All information will be kept strictly confidential.
The Rewards for Justice program is administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $125 million to more than 80 people who provided actionable information that helped bring terrorists to justice or prevented acts of international terrorism worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @Rewards4Justice.