SANTIAGO, Dominican Republic (WABC) — Six men are under arrest in the Dominican Republic and charged in the deadly shooting and attempted robbery of a 9-year-old boy from the Bronx.
Gioser Luis Féliz, 9, was shot in the head on Wednesday in Santiago after arriving from New York with his father.
Reports say Gioser and his dad, Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo, took off from JFK Airport on Wednesday for a spring break trip to see family.
They met up with a driver at Cibao International Airport to set off on what was supposed to be a six-day trip of making memories.
Police say just moments after getting in the car, that vehicle was swarmed by a group of robbers.
The driver refused to stop and that’s when the suspects pulled out their weapons and unleased a hail of bullets on the vehicle.
A bullet hole pierced the left rear passenger side window of the rented Honda CRV. The 4th-grader was riding in the back seat when he was struck in the head.
“I just looked back and saw my son bleeding out,” the victim’s father said.
He was rushed to the hospital but did not survive.
Five men were arrested Thursday, less than 24 hours after the crime. Police say they confessed to the shooting and were due in court.
They were identified as Luis Ángel Vargas Brito, 18 years old; Derlin Javier Mercado Martinez, Cesar Junior Ulloa Cuevas; José Manuel Almonte Santana (Buki), 20 years old, and Elian Martínez Sánchez (Odalis), 22 — all residents of the Cienfuegos section of Santiago.
On Friday, officials announced a sixth man, Tomás Peña Morel Tomacito, 32, was also arrested in connection to the deadly shooting.
Police also said five women were detained for investigative purposes.
Authorities are still working to find the murder weapon and are continuing their investigation.
Preparations are now underway to transport the child’s body back to the United States. His heartbroken father is still in the Dominican Republic trying to get answers.
The president of the Dominican Republic tweeted and said he has been following the case and justice must be ensured in the courts.
