Overseas surgeon to perform facial reconstruction on 13-year-old Bathlodge shooting victim

A specialist surgeon is flying to Antigua to perform reconstructive surgery on Joshua Meade, 13, shot in the face during a deadly Bathlodge incident. His 20-year-old co-victim, Saquania Anthony, did not survive.

Specialist surgeon called in for injured Bathlodge teenager

An overseas surgeon is expected to arrive in Antigua this week to carry out reconstructive surgery on 13-year-old Joshua Meade, who remains hospitalised after being shot in the face during a fatal shooting in Bathlodge on Monday night, antigua.news reports.

The announcement was made on Thursday by Maurice Merchant, Director General of Communications in the Prime Minister's Office, at the post-Cabinet media briefing.

"The hospital has requested the services of an overseas surgeon, who should be flying in to Antigua this week to assist them in reconstructive surgery, as Joshua was shot in the face," Merchant said.

Merchant indicated the hospital initiated the request given the complexity of the procedure required for the teenager's continued recovery.

Joshua was one of three people affected by the incident. Twenty-year-old Saquania Anthony was killed, while Joshua's 24-year-old sibling, Kelvin, sustained gunshot wounds but has since been discharged from hospital.

Merchant appealed to the public to keep Joshua and his family in their prayers as the boy faces the next phase of his recovery.

"The Cabinet asks for the nation to continue to pray for Joshua and his family," he said.

Cabinet offered condolences to Anthony's family alongside best wishes for Joshua. "The Cabinet expresses its condolences and best wishes to the family of Saquania, who perished, and wishes good health and recovery to 13-year-old Joshua, who is still in the hospital at this time, recovering," Merchant said.

Beyond the update on the victims, Merchant used the briefing to call for broader public engagement in tackling what he characterised as a growing threat.

"It is required for the nation to play its part in arresting what seems to be a developing problem," he said, referring to gun violence in the country.

Source: Google News AG — Crime