Unidentified assailants attacked a television host in the city of Puerto Cortés on July 17, 2013, according to news reports.
Joel Coca, who hosts the news show “Más Noticias” (More News) on local TV station Channel 12, was leaving the television studios after 9 p.m. when he was attacked by two unidentified assailants, according to press reports. One of the attackers hit Coca with a wooden baseball bat in his back, while the other one beat his head with the butt of a gun.
News reports cited Coca as saying that one of the attackers shouted, “Kill him, kill him” before fleeing the scene. The journalist sought treatment at a local hospital for injuries to his right hand, which included two fractured fingers.
Coca, who is also a correspondent for the San Pedro Sula-based TV station Channel 11, said he believed the attack was related to his reports on local corruption that had recently aired on Channel 12, the press reported. He did not specify any particular articles that might have provoked the episode.
Coca has filed a police complaint and said he is trying to leave Honduras and seek refuge in another country because he fears for his life, according to press reports.