Gunman Shoots Six at Guam Adventist Medical Clinic
Tamuning, Guam, USA (Territory) .... [Bettina Krause / Adventist News Network]
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Two people are dead and four injured after a gunman entered Guam
Seventh-day Adventist Medical Clinic at on Monday, February 26. Peter
Maguadog shot dead his estranged wife, Lucia Magudog, and Bernadette
Moreno, both clinic employees. 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.
The Adventist Church in Guam is "shocked and grieved by this senseless
tragedy," says Wilbur H. Claus, communication director for the
Adventist Church in Guam-Micronesia. Claus says that Adventist
pastoral staff have been mobilized to assist those traumatized by the
attack. At a press conference late Monday afternoon, church leaders
said that Agana Heights Adventist Church would stay open throughout the
night to provide trauma counseling and a place for prayer.
Maguadog was a former employee of the clinic, but not a member of the
Adventist Church. According to local news reports, Maguadog and his
estranged wife Lucia were due to appear before the Guam Superior Court
February 27 regarding a restraining order that had been issued against
Maguadog.
A realization of the full magnitude of the tragedy is only now starting
to break through yesterday's shock and disbelief, says Ken Wetmore,
assistant communication director for the Adventist Church in Guam. The
events of Monday have hit the community hard, he says. "This is a
culture that prides itself on being hospitable and warm--there is a
sense of disbelief that anything like this could ever happen here."
The attack has also stunned the close-knit Adventist community on the
island. "When the reports first started coming in, there was a lot of
fear," says Wetmore. "Everybody has close friends who work at the
Adventist clinic."
Immediately following the attack, the staff at the clinic "were very
professional, incredibly professional" in putting aside their own
trauma to take care of the wounded, says Wetmore.
Wetmore also praises the response of local government agencies,
including the police who reacted quickly to the emergency. Madeleine
Bordallo, Guam's lieutenant governor who is currently acting governor,
was on the scene at the clinic soon after the siege ended and, along
with other local leaders, has been "incredibly supportive," says
Wetmore.
According to latest reports, those wounded in the attack are in stable
condition in Guam Memorial Hospital. Of those who survived, Urban, who
was shot in the head, sustained the most serious injuries. Previously
an accountant at Guam Adventist Academy, Urban was in the process of
taking up new responsibilities as chief accountant at the clinic.
Medical staff at the hospital say that Urban "is an extremely lucky
man" to have survived the shot.
"Betty [Vence] is a real miracle," says Wetmore. When confronted by the
gunman, Vence raised her hand in front her face to protect herself,
slowing and deflecting the bullet which lodged in the side of her face.
Adventist Church leaders in Guam have called for continued prayers for
the survivors and their families, and for the families of those who
died. Immediately following the attack, church administrators opened a
hotline for people in the community seeking more information or
pastoral care. Those staffing the phones say that the lines were busy
Monday night, with some 150 people calling. Agana Heights Adventist
Church kept its doors open all night and more than 70 people came to
the church to seek more information, offer help, or to pray with
volunteer counselors. A special prayer service was held for the
community at Agana Heights Adventist Church on Tuesday, February 27.
The Guam Seventh-day Adventist Medical Clinic, established in 1955, is
a multi-specialty medical and dental clinic that employs more than 190
people. At the time of Monday's attack, there were reportedly around
100 people in the building.
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As tragic as the Guam incident truly was, let it be known that any church that begins an Omega of Apostasy new movement and 'removes God' (Selected Messages, vol. 1, 204-5) by teaching an anti-Christ doctrine on the human nature of Jesus Christ, to the church and to the world, cannot expect God's blessing and protection, any more than the church was not protected from the Battle Creek fires.
I have another comment on the Guam debacle. I know of a number of persons who are going through court proceedings with the church currently for grossly unfair dealings concerning wrongful dismissal of employment, which was involved with the gunman in Guam. The church may deal in court with those who are not psychotic, but when it abuses one of less faculties, it runs the risk of what occurred in Guam.
David Dennis, [the ex-SDA Church Treasurer ] for example, was not pushed to near insanity by the wrongful charges against him, but as the individual in Guam demonstrated, some are pushed beyond their ability to cope. The church could possibly avoid such grave circumstances if it was led by Christ, and took a Christian stance in regard to its treatment of its employees, especially those who "blow the whistle" on the church's dishonest practices, as David Dennis surely did.. The Mary Kay Silver case comes to mind, and I know of a couple others involving gross injustices here in Canada.
To review the David Dennis case, go to the following WebSite that is owned and operated by an SDA Minister, Vance Ferrell:
SDA Defend
Ron Beaulieu