Gioser Luís Feli, 9 year old American boy shot dead by muggers 30mins upon arriving in Dominican Republic for holiday after his family claiming they were followed from the airport in targeted hit.
A family has been left heartbroken after a 9 year old boy traveling from the U.S was shot dead by muggers just 30 minutes after landing in the Dominican Republic.
Gioser Luís Feli arrived at Cibao International Airport in Santiago for a spring break trip with his family Wednesday shortly before their car was targeted by a gang of thieves.
Reports indicated that the driver of the car refused to stop after it was set upon by the muggers, who then opened fire before speeding away.
Gioser was struck in the head, only to die in hospital while undergoing surgery, according to Diario Libre.
The day after the attack, the National Police arrested five men implicated in the shooting, named as Luis Angel Vargas Brito, 18, Derlin Javier Mercado Martínez, César Junior Ulloa Cuevas, José Manuel Almonte Santana, 20, and Elian Martínez Sánchez, 22.
Familiares del niño Gioser Luís Feliz, esperan la entrega del cuerpo del menor de nueve años, quien murió tras ser alcanzado por la bala de asaltantes, al salir del Aeropuerto Internacional del Cibao la tarde de este miércoles, al arribar al país desde Los Estados Unidos. pic.twitter.com/qjdZxub8me
— Carlos Villanueva (@mocaxtrema) April 20, 2023
Were the thieves after the father?
It remained unclear how the family’s car came to be targeted by thieves.
The tragic shooting unfolded after the family was picked up by an unnamed friend of the boy’s father, Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo.
The visiting family had expected to spend several days in the country before returning to New York next Monday.
In a video posted after he lost his son, Sergio said the family was intercepted by the muggers as they passed through a toll booth.
The gang then opened fire when the driver of the car, one of the father’s friends, refused to stop and attempted to flee.
One of the bullets hit the boy in the head, and he was rushed to a local hospital for emergency surgery before he was pronounced dead. His body will be transported back to the United States.
The assailants fled the scene in a white Hyundai, which police used to track them down and arrest them after discovering they had rented it shortly before the botched mugging.
Padre de Gioser Luís Feliz: “a mi niño me lo mataron en un intento de asalto, nos persiguieron desde el aeropuerto Cibao” pic.twitter.com/tUEOrA0pOZ
— José Gutiérrez (@gentetuya) April 20, 2023
Dangers of sharing travel plans on social media
A press release added that the men ‘admitted their participation’ in the shooting the dailymail reported.
‘These detainees were captured by video surveillance cameras in this terminal and from there they followed the father of the victim,’ added a police spokesperson following the arrests.
Told the father of Gioser Luis Feliz to local press, ‘My child was killed in an attempted assault, they followed us from Cibao airport.’
The boy’s father has since warned travelers not to share information on social media when travelling to the Dominican Republic, after he posted photos of the family at JFK Airport as they waited to board their flight Wednesday.
News of the 9 year old boy’s death has since led to the nation’s president, Luis Abinader demanding that justice be served.
‘Since I found out about the death of the child Gioser Luis Féliz, I have been following up on the case,’ he said on Twitter.
‘I have been informed by the Director of the National Police about the arrest of the 5 criminals who committed this horrendous crime. Now justice must be ensured in the courts.’
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
