“Wednesday July 17, 2002, at about 6:30 PM, a vehicle stopped at the front gate of ICA. When the guard approached to ask what they wanted, the occupants of the vehicle asked for a contract worker who frequently comes to ICA to repair different things. The guard told them that the worker was not on campus. At this point the men drew pistols from hiding places and forced the guard to open the gate.
“Once inside the wall, they entered the house of a staff family near the gate and took as many valuable items as they could find. The parents were struck by the robbers but the children were not physically harmed.
“As the robbers left the house with the parents, they saw Mike Cousineau’s vehicle approaching up the road. Mike had been called at home to tell him there were armed men on campus and was coming to handle the situation. The men let the staff family go briefly and shot at Mike’s car to make him stop. At this point the staff members ran and escaped into houses. The robbers forced Mike to take them to Brethren Dorm.
“There was a team visiting from the US for a work project who were staying at the dorm with the dorm parents. The robbers entered the dorm, searched a couple rooms and took any personal items they could find. They struck several people and forced everyone to lie on the floor. One of the ICA guards was being held by the robbers and forced to kneel on the floor near the door.
“When the robbers decided to leave with Mike to get more money at the office, one of the men holding a pistol to the guard, shot and killed him instantly. The group then left the ICA campus in Mike’s vehicle with Mike in the car. They headed into the bush and stopped, threatening to kill Mike, and roughing him up pretty badly. When Mike was forced out of the car he began immediately to run, weaving through bushes and trees. Despite several shots fired in his direction, Mike escaped without further harm. He found a car on the road that brought him back to ICA.
“The US Embassy has a team here to investigate and help us with advice on security. The Police have been helpful, placing guards at our gate overnight, and have been searching for Mike’s vehicle. The Mobile Member Care Team based in Abidjan is coming this afternoon to offer their help to those involved. Mission leaders in this country and in the US have been contacted and will be kept informed of what is happening here. Late last night I visited the family of the guard who was killed and we are in the process of helping with burial arrangements. We just received word that Mike’s car has been found here in Bouake and he has gone with some people to check on it and possibly bring the car back to ICA.
“I have been impressed with the way in which everyone on campus is dealing with what happened. The most frequent question I hear is “What can I do to help”. People are disturbed and concerned about what has happened but there is a sense that we are under the protection of God, and He is in control. Many aspects of this situation could have been much worse, as we think through what might have happened. We mourn the death of a friend and employee while we thank God for His protection over many others who were on campus at this time.
“ICA staff met this morning at 9 AM for a time of prayer and to better understand what happened. Please be in prayer for all those involved as we work through this situation and decide how to handle things for the future.
“One of the difficult things at a time like this is to know how much information to share as we try to protect the privacy of the people involved. Please be considerate of the ICA staff and be careful in how you communicate this to others.
“Thank you for your expressions of concern and your prayers for all those involved.”