THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, March 31, 1995 TAG: 9503310514
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MICHELLE FAUL, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Two missionaries from Virginia, shot during a robbery Tuesday, are recuperating today in a Haitian hospital.
The missionaries, Mark and Teresa Jacobsen, are members of Timberlake Baptist Church in Lynchburg and graduates of Liberty University.
They were victims of the surging violent crime in Haiti but were not targeted as Americans or missionaries, said U.S. Embassy spokesman Stan Schrager.
Mark Jacobsen, 33, was shot in the chest. His wife, Teresa, 33 - whose parents live in Suffolk - was grazed in the neck. Their children, ages 1, 5 and 6, were unhurt.
The shooting occurred in their home in Bossier on Haiti's southern coast, said Dick Snook, director of Missionary Flights International in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Both victims were in stable condition Thursday, said Gary Anderson, director of the missionaries' parent organization, Baptist Mid Missions of Cleveland.
Doctors said Mark Jacobsen needs about two weeks in the hospital, while his wife will be released in about four days.
They were the first American civilians directly affected by violence since the multinational force restored President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power in October.
``Apparently it was a robbery attempt, because they did have money in their house,'' said Schrager, the embassy spokesman.
After being shot late Tuesday night, the Jacobsens managed to reach a nearby medical facility, Anderson said. The entire family was airlifted by a multinational force helicopter to Port-au-Prince.
The Jacobsens have been living in Haiti for eight years.
KEYWORDS: ASSAULT SHOOTING MISSIONARY by CNB