DC Resident Shot In Turks And Caicos, Flown To U.S.

HOLLYWOOD, FL — A Washington, DC resident vacationing with his family in Turks and Caicos had to be medically evacuated to Florida after he was shot during an armed burglary Friday night.

Mike Jones, 57, was shot in his upper body by a masked gunman while he was in his private vacation villa in the Leeward residential area of Providenciales around 10:12 p.m. local time Friday, WTOP reports.

Jones suffered from a single gunshot wound and was immediately transported to a local hospital, where he was declared in stable condition. Jones was then medically evacuated to the Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida.

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Commissioner of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, James Smith, said investigators think at least two suspects forcibly entered the villa to rob the property. The private villa was equipped with an alarm system and had a security guard, whom police said was found "lightly bound" at the scene with his own shoe laces.

Police said Jone confronted at least one of the suspects, and then a shot was fired.

“What we don’t know is why a shot was discharged, what led up to that shot being discharged,” Smith told ABC News.

The robbers fled the scene soon after with a laptop they stole from the villa. They remain at large, police said. Investigators are reviewing footage from security cameras in the villa.

Jones, a partner for the law firm Kirkland & Ellis and an adjunct professor of Trail Advocacy at Georgetown, is expected to fully recover.

“Mike Jones, a partner in our Washington, D.C., office, was shot during a burglary while on vacation with his family,” the firm said in a statement. “Mike was treated successfully and is in stable condition and is expected to fully recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mike and his family, and we look forward to welcoming him back after his recovery.”

The Turks and Caicos Islands Ministry of Tourism, Environment, Heritage and Culture urges residents and visitors not to be alarmed by the situation.

"It is with regret, that we report any situation involving the safety or well-being of residents or guests to our country. While our country remains safe, any acts of crime against residents or tourists are unacceptable," the ministry said in a statement Saturday. "Our residents and visitors should continue to enjoy our islands, as we will not be intimidated by acts of cowardice."

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