New York man killed in Puerto Rico while visiting island for Bad Bunny's residency, police say
The victim, identified as 25-year-old Kevin Mares, was killed at La Perla, a popular seaside shantytown near Old San Juan, police said in a statement.
The shooting happened in the predawn hours at a nightspot called "Shelter for Mistreated Men."
Mares was shot on the left side of his abdomen and was taken to Puerto Rico's largest public hospital, where he died, authorities said.
Homicide detective Sgt. Arnaldo Ruiz told the Associated Press in a phone interview that the shooting took place when several people near Mares began arguing, and one pulled out a gun and shot at least three people. Two other men who live in La Perla were injured and remained hospitalized.
"We're still in the early stages of establishing a motive for the events. We can't rule anything out until the interviews are completed," Ruiz told local media, according to El Nuevo Dia.
The police sergeant said Mares was an innocent bystander who was visiting Puerto Rico with friends for one of Bad Bunny's 30 concerts. The musician's high-profile residency has attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the U.S. territory.
Ruiz added that Mares' three friends were also from New York. He didn't have their hometowns.
La Perla is located on the outskirts of a historic district popular with tourists known as Old San Juan. A couple hundred people live in the shantytown, which once served as Puerto Rico's biggest distribution point for heroin and was known for its violence.
Police used to avoid the community, which used to have a sign proclaiming, "Not open to visitors. Do not enter."
But violence eased when hundreds of federal agents raided the slum in 2011 and arrested dozens of people, including a well-known community leader who was later convicted.
The neighborhood became even safer and more welcoming after Puerto Rican singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featured it in their hit, "Despacito."
But isolated violent incidents persist.
In February 2023, three tourists were stabbed after police said a person told them to stop filming inside the community.
Then, in April 2024, a 24-year-old tourist from Delaware was killed and his body set on fire after police said he and a friend were attacked following a drug purchase. Police said the victims were trying to take pictures of La Perla after being warned not to do so.
The island of 3.2 million people has reported 277 killings so far this year, compared with 325 killings in the same period last year.
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