SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — A U.S. tourist in Puerto Rico for Bad Bunny’s residency was tragically shot early Sunday at La Perla, a well-known seaside community, according to police reports.
The victim was identified as Kevin Mares, a 25-year-old who lived in New York, according to a police statement.
The incident occurred at a nightspot called “Shelter for Mistreated Men” in La Perla, a coastal area working to overcome its troubled image.
Homicide detective Sgt. Arnaldo Ruiz revealed in a phone interview that the violence erupted when several individuals near Mares got into an argument, leading one person to fire a gun, hitting at least three people, including Mares. Two other residents of La Perla were injured and are still hospitalized.
Ruiz noted that Mares was simply caught in the crossfire. He was with three friends who mentioned they were visiting Puerto Rico for one of Bad Bunny’s concerts, events that have drawn large numbers of tourists to the island.
Mares was shot on the left side of his abdomen and was taken to Puerto Rico’s largest public hospital, where he died, authorities said.
According to Ruiz, police currently lack details about the dispute and have no information about the shooter. “We have very little information,” Ruiz admitted.
Ruiz added that Mares’ three friends also were from New York. He didn’t have their hometowns.
La Perla lies on the edge of Old San Juan, a historic area frequently visited by tourists. The shantytown is home to a few hundred people and was previously Puerto Rico’s main heroin distribution hub, notorious for its violent past.
Police used to avoid the community, which used to have a sign proclaiming, “Not open to visitors. Do not enter.”
But violence eased when hundreds of federal agents raided the slum in 2011 and arrested dozens of people, including a well-known community leader who was later convicted.
An aerial view of the seaside neighborhood of La Perla, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is seen on Aug. 25, 2017.
AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo, File
The neighborhood became even safer and more welcoming after Puerto Rican singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee featured it in their hit, “Despacito.”
But isolated, violent incidents persist.
In February 2023, three tourists were stabbed after police said a person told them to stop filming inside the community.
Then in April 2024, a 24-year-old tourist from Delaware was killed and his body set on fire after police said he and a friend were attacked following a drug purchase. Police said the victims were trying to take pictures of La Perla after being warned not to do so.
The island of 3.2 million people has reported 277 killings so far this year, compared with 325 killings in the same period last year.
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