iStock/Thinkstock(FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.) — An Alabama man was robbed at gunpoint and shot early Friday while vacationing with his family in Turks and Caicos, police said.
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force responded to the shooting in the Grace Bay of Providenciales, an island in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, at around 1:43 a.m. local time Friday. The injured tourist, identified as Keven Newman of Alabama, was transported to a local hospital but had to be medically evacuated to the United States for further treatment.
Newman remains in serious condition, police said.
No arrests have been made in connection with the incident, which detectives are treating as a robbery. Police said they are following up on “active” inquiries to identify those responsible.
Newman, who lives in Smiths Station in eastern Alabama, was with his wife and son when he was robbed and shot multiple times, with one of the bullets hitting the main artery to his heart, relatives told ABC affiliate WTVM-TV in Columbus, Georgia.
Since being transported back to the United States, Newman is being treated at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, until he is stable enough to be transferred to a medical center in Atlanta, Georgia, according to WTVM-TV.
Family members were able within hours to raise money to cover the steep $15,000 cost of the medical flight, relatives told WTVM-TV.
Trevor Botting, acting commissioner of police for the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, said law enforcement has increased its visible presence in the area where the shooting occurred as well as in other parts of the islands. He urged the public to share any information they may have about the shooting.
“The shooting of the visitor to the Turks and Caicos Islands is condemned, and my team are working tirelessly to identity those responsible and bring them to justice. I know this incident will cause concern in the community,” Botting said in a statement Saturday. “We need our communities’ eyes and ears to help us keep the islands safe.”
“I would ask that people remain alert and vigilant but not alarmed,” he added.
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.