A California tourist was wounded by a bullet while in a vehicle in which he was traveling with two friends at the Román Baldorioty de Castro avenue in Santurce, for reasons that are under investigation.
The 3 friends are on the island working on the Miss Universe Puerto Rico pageant, which takes place tonight, Thursday, at the Centro de Bellas Artes de Santurce.
The group of friends were in a business in the La Perla neighborhood in Old San Juan and they called an Uber to transport them to the Fairmont hotel in Isla Verde.
At about 4:49 a.m., when passing through the area of La Plaza de los Salseros in Villa Palmeras, Santurce, someone shot at them from a dark-colored car in motion and kept going, diverting towards the Isla Verde avenue.
The driver, who was driving a gray 2020 Toyota Corolla, later stopped at the Shell gas station in Isla Verde to seek shelter as the front passenger, identified as 26-year-old Luis Cortéz Jr., felt an injury in the abdomen.
Paramedics transported him to the emergency room of the Medical Center in Río Piedras. His condition is of care as he underwent surgery.
The passengers, who were unharmed, were identified as Karl Nana, 33, who is the DJ of the pageant, and Dylan Fezeu, 27, also a California resident.
The Uber vehicle was seized for forensic purposes and had nine bullet shots.
The director of the San Juan Criminal Investigation Corps (CIC), Captain Luis E. Díaz, reported that at this stage of the investigation the motive for the attack had not been established, but it was confirmed that there was no incident in the business where the tourists were.
“They are living in Puerto Rico temporarily because they work at the Miss Universe event. The wounded man is in a condition of care and the others were unharmed. We are verifying security cameras and investigating other angles, ”said the captain.
