{"id":254433,"date":"2026-08-09T13:29:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=254433"},"modified":"2026-08-09T13:29:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T18:29:16","slug":"ray-davis-cia-shooting-lahore-glock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ray-davis-cia-shooting-lahore-glock\/","title":{"rendered":"Ray Davis: The CIA Glock Shooting That Rocked Pakistan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>14<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A CIA contractor, a 9mm Glock, two dead gunmen, and an international crisis turned Lahore into something that sounded straight out of Jason Bourne. The difference was that Ray Davis was real, and real life got substantially messier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jason
Jason Bourne is the everyman CIA operator. Incredibly capable yet traumatically deprived of his memory, Bourne’s action-packed voyage of discovery has entertained us for decades. Moviestillsdb.com photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jason Bourne Was Fiction. Ray Davis Was Not.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jason Bourne was a fictional American CIA operative smitten with dissociative amnesia originally invented by the master spy novelist Robert Ludlum. Across twenty-two books, five feature films, and a TV series, this highly-trained covert operator travels the globe killing bad guys and just generally being awesome. I do love me some Bourne. However, I have it on reliable information that movies are not technically real. Out here in the real world, steely-eyed spies running about wielding guns in sovereign nations seldom ends up quite so tidy. So it was with CIA contractor Raymond Allen Davis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ray Davis: From Army Special Forces to CIA Contractor<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"3rd
Ray Davis cut his teeth in this space with the 3d SF Group. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not a great deal is known about Ray Davis and his background. It\u2019s not like those guys post their qualifications on LinkedIn. However, we do know a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davis was a former Army Special Forces soldier who spent ten years on active duty with various infantry units. He closed out his military career with the 3d SF Group at Fort Bragg before being hired by a private security firm called Hyperion Protective Consultants LLC. This shadowy mob was based in either Nevada or Orlando; nobody is really sure. They advertised that they specialized in \u201cRisk Management,\u201d whatever that really is. Davis also worked for Blackwater for a time. Regardless of the details, Ray Davis became a contractor with the American Central Intelligence Agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"President
This is President Ford conferring with then-CIA Director George Bush. Plans dreamt up in this place frequently require highly-trained operators with opaque job connections. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As I understand it, that\u2019s where the CIA gets a lot of their muscle. DEVGRU, Delta operators, and the like, looking for a change of pace, go over to the Dark Side and then head out to do the kind of deniable stuff that Uncle Sam needs doing, all without the technical baggage of a formal HR connection to the CIA. I can only assume that also gets them out of the obligatory DEI indoctrination and perhaps the occasional mandatory company picnic. Regardless, on 27 January 2011, Ray Davis was serving in this capacity in Lahore, Pakistan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The US government was pretty tight-lipped about the details. Uncle Sam claimed that Davis was an \u201cadministrative and technical official\u201d attached to the diplomatic consulate in Lahore. However, the Pakistanis are not stupid. Everybody involved knew that Ray Davis was a spy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Davis, for his part, was just living his life. He struck out that morning from his residence in a place called Scotch Corner, Upper Mall. I have never been to Lahore, Pakistan, myself. I have no idea where or what that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Lahore Traffic Light That Changed Everything<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Two
The passenger seat on the back of a motorcycle is called a pillion. Two guys riding a motorcycle this way is pretty common in Pakistan. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The American drove his white Honda Civic to his favorite ATM, withdrew a little cash, and stopped at a traffic light near Qurtaba Chowk in the Mozang Chungi area of Lahore. Save your questions. I have no idea where that is, either. While waiting for the light to change, two men pulled up in front of Davis\u2019 Honda on a motorcycle. Two dudes riding tandem on a motorbike would seem kind of weird over here. That\u2019s not unusual at all in Pakistan. The passenger on the motorcycle then turned around and produced a handgun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody really knows what these two guys had in mind. Some alleged that this was a simple attempted robbery by a couple of low-budget thieves who saw an American at an ATM. Others claimed that this was a targeted government hit gone wrong. Regardless, trying to get the drop on a CIA security contractor does not lend itself well to a long, fruitful retirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 9mm Glock Turns the Ray Davis Encounter Deadly<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Glock
The Glock 17 is the Kalashnikov of the handgun world. These unkillable plastic pistols are everywhere. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The two Pakistanis were later identified as 22-year-old Faizan Haider and 26-year-old Faheem Shamshad, also known as Muhammad Faheem. Without a great deal of fanfare, Ray Davis produced a 9mm Glock handgun and put five rounds through his windshield, hitting both men in the back. Witnesses then claim that Davis exited his vehicle and took pictures of the two injured gunmen with his cell phone. At some point, he also shot them a further four times as they lay helpless on the pavement. Both Davis and uninvolved witnesses admitted that the CIA man shot at Haider and Shamshad as they were trying to get away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus far, this whole sordid tale does sound fairly Bourne-ish. However, no self-respecting country will willingly countenance foreign nationals running about its urban spaces shooting people. I know for certain that we would frown upon Norwegians doing stuff like that here in Oxford, Mississippi. The good folks in Lahore, Pakistan, didn\u2019t care for it, either. Davis got on the horn with his CIA buddies just as the local Pakistani fuzz got energized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CIA Rescue Run Goes Spectacularly Sideways<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mere minutes later, four presumptive Americans in a Toyota Land Cruiser struck out from the same house where Davis had been staying en route to the site of the shooting. The Land Cruiser sported fake registration plates. However, this was still Pakistan. In short order, the Land Cruiser became hopelessly ensnarled in traffic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Jason
We assume motorcycle chases look like this. In reality, the motorcyclist not infrequently ends up ground into hamburger. Moviestills.db.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

These unidentified specops guys did what they do and jumped the median into oncoming one-way traffic. Once again, this also sounds fairly Bourne-like. However, at this point reality intervened, and they struck a Pakistani motorcyclist named Ebadur Rehman head-on. This incident was captured on local traffic cameras for later public distribution on Pakistani Geo TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faizan Haider was dead at the scene. Faheem Shamshad and Ebadur Rehman survived to reach the hospital. However, Rehman succumbed to his injuries in short order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Toyota
The Toyota Land Cruiser is a fairly robust vehicle commonly encountered around the world. Apparently the CIA uses them in Pakistan. Who knew? Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the tactical situation now hopelessly befouled, the Land Cruiser vigorously retreated to the US consulate. Along the way, its occupants discarded four ammunition magazines containing 100 rounds, several rechargeable batteries, a baton, a pair of scissors, a pair of gloves, a combination compass\/knife, a black blindfold, and, inexplicably, a scrap of cloth bearing an American flag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ray Davis attempted an egress as well, only to be apprehended by a pair of Pakistani traffic wardens. In his car, the local authorities discovered the Glock handgun, an infrared illuminator, a portable telescope, GPS navigation equipment, two cellphones, a satellite phone, 9mm ammunition, multiple ATM and military ID cards, and a camera containing pictures of \u201cprohibited areas such as installations along the border with India.\u201d For reasons I have never understood, the Pakistanis absolutely despise India. The cops also purportedly seized some kind of facial disguise or makeup. The mind boggles as to what that might have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ray Davis Shooting: Key Firearm and Incident Details<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Date<\/th>27 January 2011<\/td><\/tr>
Location<\/th>Lahore, Pakistan<\/td><\/tr>
Firearm Described<\/th>9mm Glock handgun<\/td><\/tr>
Rounds Through Windshield<\/th>five<\/td><\/tr>
Further Shots Described<\/th>four<\/td><\/tr>
Motorcycle Riders<\/th>22-year-old Faizan Haider and 26-year-old Faheem Shamshad<\/td><\/tr>
Response Vehicle<\/th>Toyota Land Cruiser<\/td><\/tr>
Discarded Ammunition<\/th>four ammunition magazines containing 100 rounds<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Ray Davis Shooting Gets Murkier<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Pakistani
This is a current picture taken from the Pakistani National Police Bureau website. These are likely all great guys, particularly the unfortunate short dude in the back with the walrus mustache who is trying so hard to be seen over the shoulders of his superiors. However, the Ray Davis shootings back in 2011 put everybody in a difficult spot.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Both of the men that Davis shot were indeed armed. The Pakistani cops attested that neither gun had been fired. There was controversy regarding whether or not these two guns were registered. I know less than nothing about Pakistani gun laws. However, I feel fairly certain that they are, like ours, pretty much worthless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haider had a criminal record for banditry of some flavor. His friends and family disputed this, predictably claiming that he was a simply delightful man. Regardless, witnesses claimed that it was fairly clear that these two men had been attempting to rob Davis. The Lahore police chief, one Aslam Tareen, rejected this claim. He described the exchange as \u201cclear-cut murder.\u201d However, consider the circumstances. This dude might not have been the most unbiased of investigators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Land Cruiser sported the license plate registration LZN-6970. This plate was linked to a guy named Sufi Munawar Hussain, a resident of the Sahiwal district in Punjab, some 170 km distant. The four guys in the Toyota were obviously heavily armed and came from the same place as did Davis. It didn\u2019t take a rocket surgeon to determine that they were CIA as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Were the Two Gunmen Actually Pakistani ISI?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Pakistani

The Pakistani ISI is full of some pretty scary dudes. It doesn’t help that their unofficial emblem prominently features this horrifying devil goat eating a snake.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Several official sources later anonymously attested that Haider and Shamshad were actually Inter-Services Intelligence operators. The ISI is the Pakistani version of the CIA. Davis had supposedly been traveling into the Pakistani Federally Administered Tribal Areas, a fairly lawless space populated by some of the world\u2019s most notorious cutthroats, without ISI sanction. These same anonymous sources claimed that the two men confronted Davis in an attempt to intimidate him. Davis, for his part, claimed they were just incompetent thieves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one might imagine, there was dispute over Davis\u2019s specific legal status at the time of the shooting. The US government claimed he was a diplomat with legal immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Local Pakistani authorities countered that Davis was in the country on an official business visa rather than a diplomatic visa, something that was most likely true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obama Steps Into the Ray Davis Diplomatic Crisis<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"President
Barack Obama personally intervened on Davis’ behalf. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

President Obama made a phone call, asking Pakistan not to prosecute Davis and to recognize him as a diplomat. The President stated specifically, \u201cThere’s a broader principle at stake that I think we have to uphold.\u201d This was about four months before DEVGRU swooped in and assassinated Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad some 460 km away. Given that the Pakistanis seemed to have been sheltering humanity\u2019s single most wanted monster at the time, that really kind of negated their mandate for outrage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Ray Davis languished in a Pakistani jail, the US government did its utmost to get him back. Uncle Sam cut off communications with the Pakistani Embassy in Washington over this brouhaha. The Pakistani Foreign Office was urged in the strongest possible terms to grant Davis diplomatic immunity. The US Committee on Armed Services intimated that, should Ray Davis not be released expeditiously, Pakistani-US defense cooperation would be re-examined. This threat in particular involved zillions of dollars in military aid. US Senator John Kerry apparently arranged the details. That seems to have done the trick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CIA
The CIA is the agency the President turns to to get stuff done when perhaps the rules might otherwise slow things down. Public domain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Blood Money, Release, and a Fast Flight Out of Pakistan<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Either the US or the Pakistani government paid somewhere between $1.3 and $3 million dollars in diyya to the dead men\u2019s families. The details of that transaction never saw the light of day. Diyya is the concept under Sharia law where blood money can be paid to dismiss murder charges. That\u2019s apparently something that happens quite a lot over there. Regardless, Shamshad\u2019s widow, Shumaila Kunwal, committed suicide via a medication overdose in the immediate aftermath of the thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as the ink was dry, the US spirited Davis out of Pakistan to Bagram Air Base in a government jet. He was purportedly in good spirits. Yeah, I bet he was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ray Davis After Lahore: Another Arrest and a Book Deal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nine months after the Pakistani incident, Davis got into a dispute with a man in Douglas County, Colorado, over a parking space. Davis threw the guy to the ground, fracturing one of his vertebrae in the process. The former CIA man pled guilty and was sentenced to two years\u2019 worth of probation. He divorced his wife amicably two years after that, if that is ever a real thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Ray

This is America. Once the dust settled, of course Ray Davis landed a book deal. It is available on Amazon.
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In June of 2017, Davis launched his book, The Contractor: How I Landed in a Pakistani Prison and Ignited a Diplomatic Crisis.<\/em> There was a great deal of controversy surrounding the narrative from both the US and Pakistani governments. Pakistan’s former interior minister Rehman Malik deemed the book to be a \u201cpack of lies.\u201d Regardless, the Ray Davis story just goes to show that the real world is seldom quite so compelling nor quite so tidy as the movies make it out to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the Ray Davis Case Leaves Behind<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n