GAINESVILLE, Fla. — More than 20 students, a faculty member and a staff member from the University of Florida were robbed at gunpoint during an educational trip to South Africa, a spokesman said.
None of the UF students or staff were physically harmed, according to spokesman Steve Orlando.
Orlando said the group was on a trip through the Lombardi and Stamps Scholarship Program, which is part of the university's Honors Program. The group was on a bus headed to a school in a nearby township when a car with six gunmen followed them through a security gate.
When the group got off the bus, the gunmen followed them into a kindergarten classroom at the school they were visiting, Orlando said. With kindergarteners still in the room, the men ordered everyone in the UF group to hand over all their valuables.
UF said local residents came to try to protect the UF group, and one was grazed by a bullet and another was pistol-whipped.
Orlando said the students are back at the University of Pretoria, where they met with counselors and U.S. Embassy personnel. Three students are in the process of returning home to Florida.
"We’re just tremendously thankful that everyone is OK and grateful to the local residents who came to help our group," Orlando said in a statement to 10News. "UF has been sending students on this trip to South Africa every two years for many years without incident. We will be evaluating this program and location moving forward."
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