Two Miami University professors and three graduate students are safe and back in Oxford after being ambushed by gunmen in Guatemala.
On the morning of June 23, the group was five miles from the Belize border when two men wielding rifles stepped out of the underbush 10 feet in front of the van. The driver sped up, but two bullets were fired and hit the vehicle.
One bullet went through the driver's side window and exited out the passenger's side window after grazing the mouth of Mark Boardman, director of the Institute of Environmental Sciences.
The other bullet went through the window by the third bench seat. According to the incident report, graduate student Anne Wick ducked in time and the bullet went over her head. However, the bullet ricocheted off the inside of the van and struck the owner's daughter's hand and stomach.
Boardman said he was glad the owner and her son, who was driving the van, had a quick response time. He said he believed the men intended to kill the driver and any passengers they could and then rob them.
Boardman said he is extremely grateful to the owner of the van, a Guatemalan woman who accompanied the group with her daughter and son.
In the incident report, Boardman wrote, "Although (the) choice (to use local transportation) may have cost more money, it proved to be a life-saving one."
He said the woman took great care of the group when her own daughter, who was pregnant, had to be treated in the hospital for gunshot wounds.
"She had the great presence of mind to get us out of there," Boardman said. "She just got shot at, her daughter's in the hospital, and she's helping us."
He said she found the police to file a report, located another van and explained the situation to the driver.
The group was able to stop at a hospital in Belize to get treatment and make it to the airport on time. Boardman said only one flight per day leaves the airport.
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Injuries resulting from the incident were minor. Boardman got stitches and medication, which his personal physician identified as appropriate upon his return.
Wick had minor cuts and requested not to receive medical attention. Sandra Woy-Hazleton, deputy director for academic affairs for IES, and graduate students Maricruz Rivera and Wilbert Meade were not hurt.
The woman who had injuries to her hand and stomach was transferred to Guatemala City for medical care and is still pregnant.
Boardman used the satellite phone IES owns to call the office at Miami's campus and report the incident.
"There was nothing that Miami or anyone in the U.S. could have done ... people were safe and we would proceed and make the airplane," Boardman said.
David Keitges, director of International Education, said he is unaware of any incident like this having ever happened before on a Miami study abroad program. He said the gunmen weren't targeting Americans.
"The people who ambushed that van didn't know they were Americans there," Keitges said. "They were thugs who would do it to Guatemalans. They weren't looking for Americans that day. They were looking for any vehicle that drove past."
Keitges said the randomness of the incident wouldn't warrant the university's cancellation of future trips to Guatemala. Although, he said it was not up to him to make that decision.
"Since that was the case, it wouldn't be logical for the university to say, 'Don't send another group of students to Guatemala'," he said.
Boardman said the university takes great effort to ensure study abroad programs are located in safe areas and that the university is prepared in the case of an emergency.
The university regards the State Department's travel warnings, and trips to Kenya and Haiti have been cancelled in the recent past because of warnings issued for those countries.
He said the university keeps student information on file, including emergency contacts, and always has a person manning a phone in the case of emergencies abroad. Students also have to purchase extra health insurance before traveling abroad through the university.
Keitges said the university is investigating the incident.
"We're very concerned about that program (and) the incident," he said. "We're investigating it here. But it would not appear to be something that would be avoidable unless you said, 'Don't leave Oxford in the summer.'"
Ultimately, Keitges said being familiar with the potential dangers of where students are traveling is the best way to stay safe.
"It's true of London, it's true of Paris, its true of Cincinnati-students have to be aware of their surroundings," Keitges said.
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