Four men were killed and a fifth was injured during a shootout that took place last night on the premises of the Juan C. Cordero Dávila residential complex (Quintana) in Hato Rey, reported the Policeman.
Several agents responded to the scene after the gunshot detection system (ShotSpotter) marked, at about 8:12 pm, that place as an area where detonations occurred. Upon arrival, the officers found three bodies and two people with gunshot wounds, but one of them died in hospital.
Captain Ricardo Haddockdirector of Criminal Investigation Corps (CIC) of San Juan, detailed to The new day that one of the bodies was found in front of building seven and the remaining two between buildings four and eight. This is the fifth massacre (multiple murder) recorded in Puerto Rico so far this year.
The victims who died at the scene were identified as David John Ortega Ayala. 53 years old; Dereck Ortega Gandía, 23, and Raúl Ortiz Centeno, 38.
“Two other men received injuries, but one of them died at the Medical Center. The fifth individual remains stable”, highlighted Haddock.
The victim who died at the hospital was identified as Diego Morales Morales, 22, while the individual who remains confined at the Medical Center was identified as Anderson Mello.
Haddock maintained that they do not have a cell phone, but indicated that personnel from the Institute of Forensic Sciences (ICF) will process a vehicle found at the scene with an open trunk.
“We can see that inside the trunk there are some packages that, at this time, we think contain controlled substances. ICF personnel are going to process the vehicle, so, at this time, field tests have not been carried out to determine what substances are inside the packages,” Haddock emphasized.
Lastly, the officer indicated that shell casings of multiple calibers were found at the scene, and although he stressed that the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system detected several events, he declined to offer an estimate as to the number of ammunition used until he received an official count from of the ICF.
“The investigation is beginning, and we urge citizens to contact the confidential Police line, at 787-343-2020,” he stressed.
This crime represents the fifth massacre reported so far this year. In addition, after these deaths, the number of murders reported to date increased to 344, four more than last year.
The first massacre of 2022 occurred, on May 13, in Guaynabo, near the El Tamarindo business. The second crime of this type was recorded on May 22 at the Villa Esperanza residential complex in Caimito, in San Juan.
Meanwhile, two days later the third massacre of the year was reported. On that occasion, the Police investigated the deaths of three young people on the premises of a garage located in the Villa Graciela urbanization, in reeds.
The fourth massacre occurred less than a month ago on Parque Sur street in the Sabana Seca neighborhood, in Baja store. Last Saturday, July 2, two men and one woman were killed shot at that location and, so far, no suspects in the crime have been arrested.