Atrip to the Dominican Republic ended in tragedy for a New York family as their nine year old son was shot and killed during a botched robbery.
According to police, Gioser Luís Feliz, his father Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo, a relative and a family friend had left Santiago’s Cibao International Airport on Wednesday and were heading to a nearby province when they were ambushed by armed men.
The Dominican National Police said the suspects, who were in a rented car, allegedly followed the group from the airport and opened fire when the family friend refused to pull over after going through a toll booth.
The robbers allegedly fired into the vehicle and struck Gioser in the head.
He was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The gunmen fled the scene but police traced them down less than 24 hours later.
The suspects have been identified as Luis Ángel Vargas Brito, Derlin Javier Mercado Martinez, Cesar Junior Ulloa Cuevas, José Manuel Almonte Santana and Elian Martínez Sánchez.
Police said the suspects subsequently confessed to shooting up the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader condemned the violence and called for justice to be served in the matter.
“Since I found out about the death of the child Gioser Luis Féliz, I have been following up on the case. I have been informed by the Director of the National Police about the arrest of the five criminals who [allegedly] committed this horrendous crime. Now justice must be ensured in the courts,” he said in a tweet.
