2003News

6-hour prison siege ends

This morning’s papers report on the dramatic events in the Palace of Justice in the eastern side of Santo Domingo yesterday. A man who was appearing before an assistant district attorney was detained after he assaulted and made death threats to the ADA, Sandra Gomez. He was handcuffed and herded into a cell with dozens of other inmates, whom he was able to take hostage using two firearms. The police officers had not noticed, despite carrying out a routine body-search, that he was carrying not just one, but two weapons, hidden in his underpants. The siege began at 9:30am and lasted until 3:30pm. The man, Francisco Alberto Santana, described as being “of Haitian origin” and nicknamed “El Brujo” – the witchdoctor – held 62 people hostage before being overpowered and shot dead by the police. Although there were some minor injuries, no other serious injuries were reported. The two officers who had taken Santana into custody are under investigation for neglecting to detect the weapons.