Gioser Luis Feliz: Dad of 9-yr-old NYC boy shot dead while on vacation in Dominican Republic calls for more security
SANTIAGO, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo, father of a nine-year-old boy Gioser Luis Feliz, who was shot and killed while on spring break in the Dominican Republic on Friday, April 21, remembered his son in a series of emotional posts on Instagram stories. One of the posts read, “I love you baby, only God knows my pain. I don’t want to arrive in my house and enter your room.”
Gioser was shot in the head on April 19 in Santiago after arriving from JFK Airport, New York, with his father, Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo. They came for a spring break trip to see their family. The incident took place when they took a cab, a Honda CRV, at Cibao International Airport and got followed by a group of men who tried to stop them to rob. When the driver refused to stop, the suspects started firing bullets on the vehicle. And during the attack, Gioser was struck in the head by one of the bullets. He was quickly rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, reports ABC7.
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Who are the suspects?
Six suspects have been identified. Among them, five were arrested within 24 hours and the sixth person was arrested on April 21, as per NBC New York. The suspects have been identified as Luis Angel Vargas Brito, 18, Derlin Javier Mercado Martínez, 20, Cesar Junior Ulloa Cuevas, 20, Jose Manuel Almonte Santana, 20, Elian Martínez Sanchez, 22, and Tomas Pena Morel, 32. Tomasw is alleged to have plotted the robbery, states New York Post.
'My heart is dead'
Following Gioser's death, Sergio posted a picture with a broken heart emoji and a few more pictures with his son. In one of them, he wrote, "My heart is dead my love” and “you were always the reason for my life. I love you my love, my life.” On April 22, the street of Bronx saw pictures of Gioser acompanied with flowers, candles, balloons and a piece from a foosball table. Aristid Palanco, 37, Gioser’s cousin said, “That baby really like foosball."
Father's appeal to officials to increase security
Recalling the incident, the father said, “It was an attempt to rob me of my belongings without me knowing who it would be because it was my first time coming to Santiago. They passed us so one would step aside, and we didn’t stop and we kept going and they shot us." The father requested service authorities to increase security in the area, reports New York Post.
Dominican Republic's travel advisory
Back in April 2023, the US State Department re-issued its travel advisory to the Dominican Republic as "level two" - increased caution due to crime. It read, "Violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault is a concern throughout the Dominican Republic. The development of a professional tourist police corps, institution of a 911 system in many parts of the country, and a concentration of resources in resort areas means these tend to be better policed than urban areas like Santo Domingo. The wide availability of weapons, the use and trade of illicit drugs, and a weak criminal justice system contribute to the high level of criminality on the broader scale."