8 wounded by gunfire in separate incidents
Eight men were wounded by gunfire in separate incidents Thursday. Four were shot in an incident in Hormigueros.
The Hormigueros incident was reported near the Outlaw pub located in the Lavadero ward on Route 345, where four men ages 19 to 24 were shot, one of them in the head, from another vehicle.
The group left the pub and was travelling in a white 2002 Hyundai Brio at 2:45 a.m., when they were shot by another car’s occupants near the intersection of Route 2. Police said witnesses were unable to provide a description of the assailant’s vehicle.
Roberto Vélez Lozada, 24, was rushed to the Río Piedras Medical Center with a bullet wound to his head, was listed in stable condition and later released.
Also transferred to the Río Piedras Medical Center was Charlie Mattei Báez, 22, who had a bullet in his left arm; he also was listed in stable condition.
The other wounded were identified as Félix Feliciano Molina, with a bullet wound to his right arm, and Orlando Rodríguez Nieves, with a cut under his left eye. Both are 19 years old.
The Brio’s driver, Paul Alan Orodonet, 19, was unhurt in the shooting.
All the victims, except for Vélez Lozada, who lives in the Jardines de Guánica public housing project, live in the Fuí ward of Guánica.
Mayagüez Homicide officers seized the vehicle, which had three bullet impacts on its passenger’s side, for investigation.
Another murder was reported earlier this year near the Outlaw pub and police are continuing to patrol the area to avoid further violence.
Two shootings in Caguas
Meanwhile, Caguas Homicide officers were investigating Thursday two shooting incidents reported near each other and about the same time in the Río Cañas ward.
The first incident was reported at 9:49 p.m. on Wednesday, when a driver who found a man wounded in front of the La Merced Home and the Catholic Church in the La Barra sector, drove the victim to the San Juan Bautista Hospital in Caguas.
The man was listed in critical condition at the Río Piedras Medical Center with three bullet wounds to his abdomen, right arm and left shoulder.
The victim was identified as José Lee Vázquez, 31, a resident of the Villa Blanca urbanization in Caguas, who has a criminal record for larceny and substance possession. Police said three small cocaine bags were found in one of his pockets.
Another incident was reported at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man crossing Route 1 in Caguas was shot twice by someone in a small white car.
The other victim was identified as Luis Guzmán Pérez, 28, a resident of the Hoyo Frío sector of the Río Cañas ward, who had a bullet wound in one of his thighs.
The victim had also been booked for larceny and domestic violence charges.
Due to the proximity of both incidents in terms of distance and time, police were trying to determine if they were related.
Man shot in head in Dorado
Meanwhile, another man was listed in stable condition in the Río Piedras Medical Center after being shot in the head while at the Golden Palace activity center in Dorado.
The victim was identified as Jan Carlos Vega Álvarez, 21, a resident of Toa Baja, who was shot at 5:52 a.m. He was rushed to the Toa Alta Diagnostic and Treatment Center and then referred to the Río Piedras Medical Center.
Yet another man was shot at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the recreational area of the Padre Rivera public housing project in Humacao.
The victim was identified as Luis R. Martínez Ocasio, 38, a resident of Humacao, who said he was walking in the area when he heard shots and noticed he was wounded in his right arm.
Martínez Ocasio remained under medical observation in the Domínguez Hospital in Humacao.
Another man was listed in delicate condition after being stabbed in the abdomen at 8:35 p.m. on Wednesday in the Laurel Street in Toa Baja after losing a knife in a struggle with an underage male.
The victim was identified as Carlos J. Maldonado Roldán, 35, who had a fight with the teenager and the latter overpowered him, took the weapon and stabbed him several times.
Maldonado Roldán drove himself to the Hermanos Meléndez Hospital in Bayamón to seek medical assistance.
Brothers in machete fight
Two brothers were wounded after fighting with a machete at 5:55 p.m. on Wednesday in front of the El Encanto tavern on Route 857 in the Santa Cruz ward of Carolina.
According to Police, José A. Correa Estrella, a resident of the Las Lomas sector, was assaulted by his brother, Félix Correa Márquez.
Correa Estrella had eight stitches taken on his left ear and Correa Márquez had eleven stitches on the left side of his torso and six on his right hand.
Man dies in car accident
A man identified as Khalid Novoa Rivera, 33, a resident of San Juan, died when his car overturned and pinned him on the pavement at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday on the PR-66 turnpike in Canóvanas.
According to the preliminary police investigation, Novoa Rivera was driving a burgundy 2008 Mazda 3 towards Carolina when he crashed near the turnpike station against a guard rail, was thrown from the car and crushed by the vehicle.
The road was temporarily closed off to traffic.
Another accident was reported at 10:35 p.m. on Wednesday in the Luis A. Ferré turnpike in Juana Díaz, in which a 12-year-old girl was listed in critical condition.
According to the preliminary police investigation, Nancy G. Cruet Gordill, 43, a resident of the Vista Mar urbanization in Guayama, was driving a 2009 Mercedes Benz above the speed limit when the vehicle veered onto a toll plaza lane barrier.
The car then hit a change booth and the driver’s side of a 2004 Dodge Durango driven by Angel I. Santiago García, a resident of Juana Díaz, who was paying the toll.
Passenger Emily Furget Cruet, 12, was rushed to the San Cristóbal Hospital and referred to surgery because she had 12 broken ribs and was unconscious.
Natalie Furget Cruet, 9, and driver Cruet Gordill, suffered several traumas and were hospitalized for observation.
The Hormigueros incident was reported near the Outlaw pub located in the Lavadero ward on Route 345, where four men ages 19 to 24 were shot, one of them in the head, from another vehicle.
The group left the pub and was travelling in a white 2002 Hyundai Brio at 2:45 a.m., when they were shot by another car’s occupants near the intersection of Route 2. Police said witnesses were unable to provide a description of the assailant’s vehicle.
Roberto Vélez Lozada, 24, was rushed to the Río Piedras Medical Center with a bullet wound to his head, was listed in stable condition and later released.
Also transferred to the Río Piedras Medical Center was Charlie Mattei Báez, 22, who had a bullet in his left arm; he also was listed in stable condition.
The other wounded were identified as Félix Feliciano Molina, with a bullet wound to his right arm, and Orlando Rodríguez Nieves, with a cut under his left eye. Both are 19 years old.
The Brio’s driver, Paul Alan Orodonet, 19, was unhurt in the shooting.
All the victims, except for Vélez Lozada, who lives in the Jardines de Guánica public housing project, live in the Fuí ward of Guánica.
Mayagüez Homicide officers seized the vehicle, which had three bullet impacts on its passenger’s side, for investigation.
Another murder was reported earlier this year near the Outlaw pub and police are continuing to patrol the area to avoid further violence.
Two shootings in Caguas
Meanwhile, Caguas Homicide officers were investigating Thursday two shooting incidents reported near each other and about the same time in the Río Cañas ward.
The first incident was reported at 9:49 p.m. on Wednesday, when a driver who found a man wounded in front of the La Merced Home and the Catholic Church in the La Barra sector, drove the victim to the San Juan Bautista Hospital in Caguas.
The man was listed in critical condition at the Río Piedras Medical Center with three bullet wounds to his abdomen, right arm and left shoulder.
The victim was identified as José Lee Vázquez, 31, a resident of the Villa Blanca urbanization in Caguas, who has a criminal record for larceny and substance possession. Police said three small cocaine bags were found in one of his pockets.
Another incident was reported at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday when a man crossing Route 1 in Caguas was shot twice by someone in a small white car.
The other victim was identified as Luis Guzmán Pérez, 28, a resident of the Hoyo Frío sector of the Río Cañas ward, who had a bullet wound in one of his thighs.
The victim had also been booked for larceny and domestic violence charges.
Due to the proximity of both incidents in terms of distance and time, police were trying to determine if they were related.
Man shot in head in Dorado
Meanwhile, another man was listed in stable condition in the Río Piedras Medical Center after being shot in the head while at the Golden Palace activity center in Dorado.
The victim was identified as Jan Carlos Vega Álvarez, 21, a resident of Toa Baja, who was shot at 5:52 a.m. He was rushed to the Toa Alta Diagnostic and Treatment Center and then referred to the Río Piedras Medical Center.
Yet another man was shot at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the recreational area of the Padre Rivera public housing project in Humacao.
The victim was identified as Luis R. Martínez Ocasio, 38, a resident of Humacao, who said he was walking in the area when he heard shots and noticed he was wounded in his right arm.
Martínez Ocasio remained under medical observation in the Domínguez Hospital in Humacao.
Another man was listed in delicate condition after being stabbed in the abdomen at 8:35 p.m. on Wednesday in the Laurel Street in Toa Baja after losing a knife in a struggle with an underage male.
The victim was identified as Carlos J. Maldonado Roldán, 35, who had a fight with the teenager and the latter overpowered him, took the weapon and stabbed him several times.
Maldonado Roldán drove himself to the Hermanos Meléndez Hospital in Bayamón to seek medical assistance.
Brothers in machete fight
Two brothers were wounded after fighting with a machete at 5:55 p.m. on Wednesday in front of the El Encanto tavern on Route 857 in the Santa Cruz ward of Carolina.
According to Police, José A. Correa Estrella, a resident of the Las Lomas sector, was assaulted by his brother, Félix Correa Márquez.
Correa Estrella had eight stitches taken on his left ear and Correa Márquez had eleven stitches on the left side of his torso and six on his right hand.
Man dies in car accident
A man identified as Khalid Novoa Rivera, 33, a resident of San Juan, died when his car overturned and pinned him on the pavement at 3:30 a.m. on Thursday on the PR-66 turnpike in Canóvanas.
According to the preliminary police investigation, Novoa Rivera was driving a burgundy 2008 Mazda 3 towards Carolina when he crashed near the turnpike station against a guard rail, was thrown from the car and crushed by the vehicle.
The road was temporarily closed off to traffic.
Another accident was reported at 10:35 p.m. on Wednesday in the Luis A. Ferré turnpike in Juana Díaz, in which a 12-year-old girl was listed in critical condition.
According to the preliminary police investigation, Nancy G. Cruet Gordill, 43, a resident of the Vista Mar urbanization in Guayama, was driving a 2009 Mercedes Benz above the speed limit when the vehicle veered onto a toll plaza lane barrier.
The car then hit a change booth and the driver’s side of a 2004 Dodge Durango driven by Angel I. Santiago García, a resident of Juana Díaz, who was paying the toll.
Passenger Emily Furget Cruet, 12, was rushed to the San Cristóbal Hospital and referred to surgery because she had 12 broken ribs and was unconscious.
Natalie Furget Cruet, 9, and driver Cruet Gordill, suffered several traumas and were hospitalized for observation.