The World - News from July 18, 1989

Heavy gunfire erupted at El Salvador’s national university during clashes in the capital between students and soldiers in which at least eight students were wounded, witnesses and radio reports said. Rifle and machinegun fire and occasional explosions could be heard outside the University of El Salvador, which the armed forces views as a bastion of support for the country’s leftist rebels. Students had planned a demonstration to protest what they said were recent detentions of university students by local security forces. An armed forces spokesman said that students opened fire on soldiers posted at the university’s entrances to search all those who enter or exit. The injured American was identified as Robert Drennon, 33, of New York City, who is studying spanish on a student exchange program.