By LYNAIRE MUNNINGS

Tribune Staff Reporter

lmunnings@tribunemedia.net

FREE National Movement candidate for Fox Hill Dr Nicholas Fox said “everything that could break was broken” after vandals smashed glass, overturned files, and caused about $8,000 in damage at his Collins Avenue medical clinic over the weekend — the second break-in there this year.

Police said officers arrested a 25-year-old man early Saturday morning after he was caught inside the building. The suspect reportedly tried to escape through a hole in the roof before being captured. A backpack containing coins, food, and a cellphone, believed to have been stolen during a previous break-in, was recovered.

Dr Fox said staff were left shaken and frustrated by the repeat attack. “The staff was a bit shaken up, more so disappointed that these people would target a medical facility again, with nothing in it,” he said. “It didn’t seem like it was a robbery this time. Everything that could break was broken. All the glass, both in the clinic and in the pharmacy, files were strewn all over the place. Nothing’s missing. No files were missing. Computers were untampered with, just a lot of destruction.”

He said repairs to replace glass, doors, and counters would cost about $8,000. “The cash register was totally destroyed in the pharmacy,” he said. “We found his backpack with items that were missing from the previous robbery, the cellphone from the pharmacy, food from the kitchen, and small items, but nothing significant — probably less than $50 in coins.”

The vandalism disrupted operations after security camera and internet wires were cut, forcing the clinic to process patients manually. “We were unable to use our credit card machine and could not log into our electronic medical records, so everything had to be done by hand,” Dr Fox said. “Despite that, we saw an excess of 100 patients (yesterday). They were all served pleasingly, professionally, and properly.”

The clinic has since resumed full operations and introduced stricter security measures. Dr Fox said he could not say whether the latest incident was politically motivated, but insisted the work of the facility would continue uninterrupted. “We were able to commence what we do — serve the Bahamian people and give them the best healthcare that we can offer with compassion and empathy,” he said.

The attack was the second at the same clinic this year. In July, shortly after Dr Fox was ratified as the FNM’s Fox Hill candidate, surveillance footage captured an intruder climbing onto the roof, cutting a hole in the ceiling, and dropping into the building.

That earlier incident resulted in the theft of three iPads containing sensitive patient data and more than $2,000 in cash. Files were scattered, and FNM campaign paraphernalia was disturbed. The clinic’s electronic medical records provider later remotely wiped the stolen devices.