Missionary mayhem.(an incident of gun violence)

A subscriber to THE NEW AMERICAN who works as a missionary in the Dominican Republic had to use a gun to protect his life while he was in that country.

The missionary said that in early March, he was dozing off after putting his kids to sleep when his dogs began barking loudly and continuously at some disturbance. He awoke to the noise. The barking also drew the attention of a 14-year-old neighbor named David. The young man came down the hill on which they lived to the missionary's house and called out for the missionary. Being fatigued, the missionary was not put on his guard by the dogs' barking as he should have been, and he went outside to speak to David. Outside, he was further reassured as to his safety because all of the lights were on in the area and people were walking by and talking freely within sight. He figured no one would try anything with so many people around.

On the porch, the two were startled by the muzzle flash and blast of a shotgun, fired by one of two gunmen who appeared about 20 feet away. Miraculously, the gunman shot high and missed completely. The missionary then jumped to his feet and ...