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 Maguadog, 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.