family members of three staff members who were killed and another one who was wounded Monday, December 30, when a lone gunman attacked its hospital in Jibla, Yemen.
"We are devastated by this news," said Board spokesman Larry Cox. "We are moving quickly to assist family members. We’re grateful God spared the lives of others and pray that His spirit will meet the needs of everyone touched by this crisis."
He spoke as news emerged that a suspected 35 year old Muslim militant was arrested shortly after he fired the shots at the Jibla Baptist Hospital in the town of Jibla, about 120 miles (about 200 kilometres) south of Yemen’s capital, San’a.
Associated Press (AP) quoted unidentified officials as saying that the attacker was, "hiding his gun cradled like a baby", before he slipped into the hospital.
The official Yemeni news agency Saba quoted an Interior Ministry official as saying the attacker was Abed Abdul Razak Kamel, Ramon A. Williams of Worldwide Photos reported earlier.
AMERICANS DIED
The Southern Baptist International Mission Board identified those killed as hospital administrator William E. Koehn, purchasing agent Kathleen A. Gariety and physician Martha C. Myers. Pharmacist Donald W. Caswell was injured in the early morning attack, officials said.
Koehn, 60, of Arlington, Texas, had reportedly planned to retire in October 2003 after 28 years of service. Gariety, 53, was from Wauwatosa, Wisc. Myers, 57, was from Montgomery, Ala.
The wounded Caswell, 49, who is from Levelland, Texas, was taken to surgery, where two bullets were removed, and Baptist officials said they expected him to recover.
MAJOR SET BACK
However the attack came as a major set back for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board which has operated Jibla Baptist Hospital, for 35 years. More than 40,000 patients a year are treated at the facility, which is on property owned by the Yemeni government, the Board said.
The hospital provides free care and medicine to those who cannot afford it and has reportedly responded to relief needs during earthquakes and famine.
Despite the attack, spokesman Cox said no decision has been made about relocating other Americans connected with the hospital. Kaye Rock, a Southern Baptist worker at the hospital suggested that the murder’s won’t deter Americans at the hospital from their ministry.
PRAYERS REQUESTED
"We can’t let someone with a gun make us afraid to do what God wants us to do. We’re asking people to pray that these deaths will not be a senseless waste, but that God will complete all He has intended here and that He will be glorified," he told Baptist Press.
"Our personnel, as Americans and Christians, are well aware of the risks of living and serving in a place like Yemen," noted Jerry Rankin, Southern Baptist International Mission Board president.
"Yet their love of the Yemeni people and obedience to a conviction of God’s leadership has been expressed in a willingness to take that risk — and to give of their lives," he said in a statement. "Our hearts go out to their families, colleagues and local friends, who join us in grieving this tragic loss."
EMBASSY CONCERNED
The United States embassy in San’a has expressed concern about the situation and advised Americans in the country to enhance their personal security.
It also asked the Yemeni government to provide additional security for Americans, amid growing anti-Christian and anti-American sentiment in the troubled Islamic country of over 16 million people. The International Mission Board, an entity of the 16 million member Southern Baptist Convention, can be reached at: www.imb.org. It has 5,487 missionaries working among 1,497 people groups worldwide. In 2001, Southern Baptist missionaries and their co-workers baptized over 395,773 new believers and organized 5,775 churches, the organization said on its website.
