Police search for gunmen who shot American tourist in Turks and Caicos

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (WABC) -- A manhunt is underway in Turks and Caicos for the robbers who shot an American tourist and tied up a security guard.

Police say two masked men forced their way into a lavish beachfront rental home on Friday.

They tied up a security guard with his own laces. When 57-year-old Michael Jones confronted the men, they shot him.

Jones, a prominent Washington D.C. attorney and Georgetown law professor, was transferred to a hospital in South Florida where he is expected to survive.

The thieves ran off with a laptop.

"What we don't know is why a shot was discharged, what led up to that shot being discharged," said Police Commissioner James Smith.

Turks and Caicos police say the crime rate on the island is increasing, but officials there insist the country remains safe and the State Department has not issued any advisories for American travelers.

The incident comes a little more than a month after a man from Alabama was shot during an armed robbery in Turks and Caicos.