A night out with friends ends in the tragic death of three men and another injured, two of the deceased were only 20 and 22 years of age.
It all started at 3:00 am Friday when four men arrived in a white BMW at the El Pueblo commercial center, in Calle Blancos, where there are plenty of bars.
A security guard stopped one of the men carrying a weapon, for which he was not allowed to enter. The man returned to his car to store the gun and then entered the center.
Some 90 minutes later, the four men left. On their way out a security guard stopped them. Micahel Soto, assistant director of the Organismo de Investigacion Judicial (OIJ), said that “when they were about to leave the establishment, the security guard told them they could not leave with the drinking glass, so one of the men gets angry and throws the glass at the guard. The man then left the bar for his gun in the car and on return got into a confrontation with the guard, the guard shoots him.”
The man, who died on the scene, was identified as 25-year-old Michael Cano Lopez of Tejarcillos de Alajuelita.
“Another of his companions, Alonso Rodríguez, picked up the weapon with which his companion had aimed at the security guard, the guard shoots him in the arm, wounding him,” added Soto.
“The three then climbed into the vehicle and fled. On the way, they dropped off Rodríguez at the Calderón Guardia Hospital and headed in the Zapote direction”.
At the Garantia Sociales (Zapote) rotonda, a video by CamarasViales.com captured the moment the driver, appearing to be traveling at a high speed, missed the turn around the rotonda, mounted the curb and grass mound, flipped several times and ended up, upside down in front of the Transito (traffic) police station.
The impact was so violent, the two men where thrown from the vehicle.
At first authorities did not make the connection, believing they were responding to a fatal traffic accident. The OIJ identified the two men as 20-year-old Jimenes and 22-year-old Barrantes. Inside the vehicle was the weapon used in the shootout with the guard minutes earlier.
OIJ chief Soto said the guard involved in the shooting is waiting on the Fiscalia (Prosecutor’s Office) to determine the situation. In appearance, he would have acted in self-defence.
The fourth man, Rodriguez, is reported in stable condition at the Calderon Guardia hospital.
