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Doctor recovering at Delray Medical Center after ambush, shooting in Haiti

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Posted at 6:00 PM, Apr 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-04-10 19:44:25-04

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Pictures of a shattered truck window, bullet hole, and flat tire after a series of shots fired.

A team of missionaries said they were driving to a remote school outside of Port Au Prince, Haiti on April 4. Jeff Lee was part of the Living Water Ministries journey.

"The road was all blocked off," said Lee. "They had fires burning in the road with tires, debris, sticks, and all that."

Lee said men on motorcycles who were carrying guns came up to their windows.

"One was driving it, and the one on the back had an automatic weapon," said Lee. "And after they had shot the front and the back they wrapped around the side and they shot into the window where Doug was.

Doug Burbella, a missionary doctor for 30 years, was shot three times.

"Next thing you know, I'm looking down at my body and I see that my arms are going like this," said Burbella.

Burbella was worried about the shooters and pretended he was dead.

"So my driver, I could hear him crying because one of the guys put the barrel up to my head to finish me off," said Burbella. "And then a guy apparently showed up out of nowhere and put his hand on the shooter's chest and said no."

The gunmen left, and the clock was ticking to get Burbella to a nearby doctor before returning to the U.S.

He was shot in the neck, which broke his neck. He was also shot in the cheek and in his shoulder.

"I said I'm going to bleed to death," said Burbella "So I said, in case I do, I want to leave a message to my wife and my son that I love them, which they know. But particularly to my son. I don't want him to get discouraged and quit his pilot school because he wants to be a missionary pilot."

Almost 15 hours later, Burbella was airlifted to Delray Medical Center. He was eventually happily reunited with his family.

"God is alive. He is well, and in control," said Burbella.

Burbella will have several surgeries, one of them to remove a bullet near his cervical vertebrae.

To donate to Burbella's recovery, click here.

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