A young orthodontist in Paracho, Michoacán, was beaten and forced to flee his home on Monday after being attacked by a group of men who believed his father, a doctor, had caused the death of a man believed to have been infected with the coronavirus. 

In a video making the rounds on social media, Salvador Jasso, a recent dental school graduate, detailed the events that forced him and his family to leave their home in the town of Ahuirán. 

In the video, filmed while the visibly upset and bruised young man was driving, Jasso narrates what took place. “Today we are fleeing from Paracho. They beat us, and we had to see how such a noble profession of being a doctor has become a crime in this fucking country,” Jasso said. 

Fifteen to 20 hooded men came to his door demanding to see his father. Jasso told the men, who he says appeared drunk, that his father was not home and would be back in 40 minutes. 

“As I see that they are beginning to get aggressive, I close the door. They pull me, they start hitting me, they literally kidnapped me, they wanted to kidnap me and wouldn’t let me go until Dr. Jasso arrived,” he said.

Earlier that morning his father had treated a patient with low blood oxygen levels who was suffering from atypical pneumonia. Jasso’s father injected the patient with dexamethasone, a corticosteroid meant to reduce pulmonary inflammation, and sent him to the hospital. Shortly thereafter, the man died and his family and friends were enraged. “… my father supposedly injected him with something to make him die,” Jasso said.

Michoacán Government Secretary Carlos Herrera Tello said the state Attorney General’s Office is investigating and that those responsible for attacking Jasso will not go unpunished. Until then, he offered the family protection from future attacks.

“In no way are we going to allow that violence to occur,” Herrera said. “The investigation is underway, and I am sure that very soon there will be clarity, and we will find those responsible …”

“My father puts himself at risk and puts his family at risk just to exercise his profession and look at what has happened to us,” Jasso said. “You tell me if this isn’t a really stupid act by ignorant people,” he added, touching the wounds to his face.

Source: El Universal (sp), Excélsior (sp)