Sick shot dies in hospital

Two assassins on Tuesday morning invaded Mozambique’s largest health unit, Maputo Central Hospital, and shot a patient dead.The victim, 26 year old Arao Alfredo Elias, was serving a sentence in the Maputo top security prison. He was hospitalized in order to undergo surgery.According to a press release from the Ministry of Health, the criminals attempted to enter the hospital premises by the rear entrance in a vehicle. They showed the hospital security guards identity documents which identified them as policemen. The guards were suspicious and refused to let them in.It is believed that they then parked their car and scaled a wall to enter the hospital. They went straight to the orthopaedic ward, where they knew that Elias was hospitalized. They threatened and assaulted the medical staff on duty, and when they located Elias, they dragged him out of bed, took him to the building in front of the orthopedic services and shot him dead.The sound of shots alerted the hospital guards, who rushed to the orthopaedic services. But by the time they arrived, the two murderers had already made their getaway.The hospital administrative director, Zacarias Zidonga, cited in Wednesday’s issue of the independent daily “O Pais”, said he thought it appalling that such an event should occur inside a hospital. Regardless of what Elias may have done, “if he’s a patient, that means he’s ill and needs help”. The hospital immediately notified the police, but so far the criminals are still at large. The motive for the murder is not yet known.