Someone shot into the offices doctors occupy at American Medical Center’s Mangilao campus early Thursday morning. No one was hurt, according to Dr. Vincent Akimoto, a partner at the clinic.
“[A] dark pickup truck [was] captured on video surveillance,” Dr. Akimoto said. “Shots apparently fired purposely toward doctors’ workspace.”
A picture he provided from inside the clinic shows a shattered window.
According to Dr. Akimoto, the Guam Police Department is investigating the case. Police spokeswoman Berlyn Savella has not replied to Kandit’s request for comment as of the publication of this news.
The incident has provoked his memory of the 2001 shooting spree at Seventh Day Adventist clinic in Tamuning that left three people dead, and another four injured. On Monday, February 26 that year, Peter Maguadog entered the clinic and shot his estranged wife, Lucia Maguadog, and her SDA co-worker Bernadette Moreno to death.
According to ANN news for the SDA, “He then turned his gun on others in the clinic, wounding employees Jordon C. Urban, Betty Vence, and Anthony Cruz, along with visiting contractor, Tom Kim. The siege ended when a team from the Guam police force shot Maguadog in the basement of the clinic. Maguadog died later at Guam Memorial Hospital.”
Dr. Akimoto is suspicious about the timing of the shooting, mentioning that AMC just filed a $2 million lawsuit against the government of Guam and news of attempts by other doctors to draft his clinical partner Dr. Hoa Nguyen to run for senator surfaced only hours prior to the shooting. He said he has asked GPD to consider whether the shooting may have been politically motivated.
“We condemn all violent acts,” Joshua Tenorio, the lieutenant governor, said. “Dr Hoa informed me of the incident last night and I asked police leadership to make contact with him and investigate and apprehend the perpetrators. I also informed the governor. Healthcare facilities like schools and churches are sacred places that should escape any forms of violence. We ask the public to come forward with any information.”
