Brandon family injured in attack

Jeff Womble of Brandon was sitting three rows from the rear of the Protestant church in Islamabad Sunday when a man he described as in his early 20s rushed in from the right, rear side with two grenades in each hand and hurled them toward the middle section.

"I'm not sure he knew what he was doing," said Womble, 40, who said his ears were still ringing from the blast. He suffered facial cuts and shrapnel wounds in his legs. The attack came in the middle of a sermon on "forgiveness and restoration," Womble said from his bed in the emergency room of the Shifa International Hospital.

"I grabbed my wife and my 6 1/2-year-old son who was sitting between us, and we hit the floor, and I covered her with my body," he said. "The grenade landed seven rows up, and there was a big explosion. My first thought was that maybe I had died. But I was all right. Then I checked my wife, and she was hurt. But I couldn't find my son. He had been sitting, crying in between us, and he had been blown two rows back. I got him and laid him next to his mother. He had shrapnel wounds to the head. I didn't know whether he'd been shot, but he was conscious."

His wife, Cindy, and their son were awaiting surgery Sunday.

At 2:30 a.m. in Brandon, the phone rang in the home of Cindy Womble's parents. An official from the U.S. Embassy was calling from Islamabad with the terrible news.

For the rest of the morning, Womble's father and his wife prayed. They got more calls throughout the day from the embassy. But as of 9:30 p.m. Sunday, they hadn't spoken to their daughter.

Cindy Womble's father did not want to give his name until knowing more about his family's safety. He said his daughter and her husband returned to Islamabad in February, where they have worked with an international humanitarian aid agency for three years.

Cindy Womble, 37, works as a nurse in Pakistan at different clinics. Jeff Womble teaches English as a second language, he said.

-- Times staff writer David Karp contributed to this report.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright