3 U.S. tourists stabbed for taking photos in Puerto Rico

[Judi Lynn]

FEB. 6, 2023 / 7:39 PM

By Joe Fisher



A foot chase through the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico, ended with three tourists being stabbed on Monday morning. File photo by Thais Llorca/EPA-EFE


Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A foot chase through the streets of San Juan, Puerto Rico, ended with three tourists being stabbed Monday morning.

Wallace Alonso Florence , 37, Carlos Sánchez Brown, 39, and Jackson Brandom Tremayne, 38, all tourists from the United States, were taking photos with a cellphone in the La Perla neighborhood when they were told to stop, according to the San Juan Municipal Police and NotiCentro Digital.

. . .

The tourist who was taking photos and possibly filming video is from South Carolina, CBS News reports. Tremayne, who is from Georgia, was stabbed six times and is one of two victims that is still hospitalized. Stab wounds were inflicted on his arms, chest, abdomen and back. Florence and Sánchez Brown were both struck in the head.

Monday's stabbings were not the first act of violence against tourists resulting from filming in La Perla. In 2021, 24-year-old Tariq Quadir Loat of Wilmington, Del., was found dead and burned after a group of people confronted him for taking pictures. Loat and his friend James Jackson were beaten, but Jackson was able to escape, the Delaware News Journal reported.

La Perla is a growing destination for tourists visiting San Juan. In 2017, the La Perla Community Board launched beautification efforts, painting 375 houses in bright, eye-catching colors to revitalize the neighborhood.

More:
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2023/02/06/5171675729057/















Better yet, paint La Perla, from a distance, in the daytime.





Is this the picture they were actually trying to get?

[dem4decades]

1. Talk about a tourist trap. Bait then in with pretty houses then wham.

No thank you.

[Deuxcents]

2. Maybe they don't want tourists?

[Eyeball_Kid]

3. Wait. Someone will set up a food stand and then there will be a cash flow coming in.

The vendor will skim something off the top for the angry ones in the neighborhood. End of story.

Tourism is relatively harmless and can be a money maker.

[bluedigger]

4. La Perla was off limits to tourists when I worked in San Juan two decades ago.

The local cops had a man stationed at the entrance to strongly discourage outsiders from wandering in. It's been a thieves den for centuries. I guess the fresh coat of paint hasn't changed anything.