The prime minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines was hospitalized after he was struck in the head by a stone during a protest against a proposed vaccine mandate, with images online showing him bloodied by the injury.
PM Ralph Gonsalves met hundreds of raucous demonstrators as he arrived at parliament on Thursday afternoon, with protesters gathering to denounce a bill that would compel Covid-19 shots for the Caribbean nation. Gonsalves’ office confirmed in a statement that he was “physically assaulted and wounded by opposition demonstrators while attempting to enter the House of Assembly.”
“Approximately 200 demonstrators, responding to a call to action from the Leader of the Opposition, picketed the parliament and blocked the entrance to the building,” it said, adding that when the PM was unable to enter parliament in his vehicle, he attempted to do so on foot.
Videos from the protest have also made the rounds, with Gonsalves’ security team seen escorting him away from the parliament building amid a chaotic crowd. Other clips also showed protesters elsewhere on the island, some lighting fires in the streets.
While the prime minister’s office initially said he would remain at the hospital “overnight for observation,” the country’s Finance Minister Camilo Gonsalves – the PM’s son – said he would be flown to Barbados for further treatment, according to local media reports.
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