Three men were shot dead Monday night and Tuesday in the Caguas area, and homicide agents are investigating whether the series of killings were related.

The latest killing was reported at 1:20 p.m. Tuesday on road PR-189, which leads from Gurabo to Caguas, in front of a McDonald’s fast food restaurant and near the Universidad del Turabo.

The victim was in a black 2009 Mercedes Benz 4-Matic, which was riddled by about 50 bullets fired by AK-47 assault rifles, police said. He was later identified as Ramón “Jumbo” Martínez Ortiz, 49, of Gurabo, who was rushed in critical condition to the San Juan Bautista Hospital in Caguas, where he was pronounced dead at 2:30 p.m.

Caguas Homicide agents are investigating whether Martínez Ortiz had any relation to Fernando Claudio Colón, 34, of the Villa Esperanza urbanization in Caguas, who was shot to death at 7:44 p.m. on Monday.

Claudio Colón was killed at the José Gautier Benítez public housing project in Caguas, where agents were trying to corroborate the ties Martínez Ortiz had there. “Gordo Fen,” as Claudio Colón was known because of his weight, as well as Claudio Colón, had criminal records and ties to a drug gang established decades ago in the Gautier Benítez complex.

Another man was killed in the Vistas de Jagueyes urbanization in Aguas Buenas at 9:39 p.m. and Caguas Homicide agents were trying to determine whether he had any relation with the other two victims. He was identified as area resident Miguel A. Rodríguez González, 31, who was also shot to death.

Rodríguez González was shot 18 times and was rushed to the Aguas Buenas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. There have been 846 homicides so far this year, 81 more than in the same period last year.

Yet another was reported at 4:42 p.m. on Tuesday near road PR-176 in the Cupey sector of Río Piedras. The victim was identified as Alexis Vega Vázquez, about 25 years old, who had been booked on aggravated robbery charges in September.

Meanwhile, a resident of the Franklin D. Roosevelt public housing project in Mayagüez was in critical but stable condition at the Río Piedras Medical Center on Tuesday after being shot Monday afternoon at the El Carmen public housing project in Mayagüez.

The victim was identified as Angel Luis Mercado Valentín, 33, who was shot seven times at 1 p.m.  Monday. Authorities also said a construction laborer who was working in a food warehouse in Bayamón was shot in the leg at 11:05 a.m. on Tuesday. The victim was identified as Arnaldo Mercado Figueroa, of Naranjito, who was doing construcion in the Almacén, Venta y Distribución César Rodríguez-El Guaguerito, Inc., in the Lomas Verdes urbanization in Bayamón, when an unidentified male demanded his wallet. When the laborer refused, a struggle ensued, the other man pulled a gun from his waist and shot him in the left calf. Mercado Figueroa was rushed to the Bayamón Regional Hospital, where he remained in stable condition. The assailant left without taking anything from the victim.

Robberies in SJ, Carolina, Arecibo

Meanwhile, a rash of armed robberies was reported, including one at a Walgreens at the intersection of César González Street and Jesús T. Piñero Avenue in Hato Rey at 9:48 p.m. on Monday.

The assailants threatened the employees, stole $395 in cash and eight packs of cigarettes and fled in a gold colored Suzuki Vitara. The individuals were described as between 20 and 25 years old and their faces were covered by shirts. 

Another armed robbery was reported by police on Tuesday, 24 hours after the fact, at Cardinal Distributors on San Ignacio Street in Puerto Nuevo. Complainant José Velázquez Mora claimed he was with some business associates when five masked men, two of them armed, made them lie on the floor and tied their arms and legs, stealing a white 1998 Ford Van with 196 boxes of cigarettes, all valued at $150,000, over $2,000 in jewelry and their mobile phones.

Another armed robbery was reported at 8:39 a.m. Tuesday in the Caparra Heights urbanization in Puerto Nuevo, where the assailants stole $18,000 in cash, jewelry and a handgun from an 86-year-old couple and a 65-year-old relative. The victims were unharmed in the home invasion. 

Still another armed robbery was reported at 1:50 a.m. on Tuesday at a Gel gas station on road PR-2 in the Sabana Hoyos sector of the Factor I ward in Arecibo.

A female employee told policemen that three masked men wielding rifles and traveling in a white Ford Econoline crashed through the front glass doors, took the cash register and a safe with an undetermined amount of money and fled the crime scene.

Meanwhile, Juan Rivera González, of Coamo, complained that someone stole 500 green bananas and 300 pounds of pumpkins  from his pick up truck while he was parked in front of the Sefas Restaurant in the Helechal ward in Barranquitas, all valued at about $390. Also Tuesday, a 9-year-old student from the Rexville Elementary School was rushed to the Bayamón Regional Hospital at 9:25 a.m. after attempting to hang himself with a shirt. Police reported the minor has been depressed since his baby cousin died of natural causes.