Crime
3 American tourists are stabbed in Puerto Rico for filming a hamburger cart
The standoff began when the tourist started filming a video of a hamburger cart and was told to stop and leave the place, according to police
February 7, 2023 6:45pm
Updated: February 10, 2023 9:20am
Three American tourists were stabbed to death in Puerto Rico early Monday after police say someone asked them to stop filming in a well-known beachfront community known as La Perla, made famous by the "Despacito" music video by Luis Fonsi.
The confrontation started when tourist Carlos Sanchez Brown, 39, of South Carolina, began filming a video of a hamburger cart and was told to stop and leave the area, according to police.
Brown was accompanied by Wallace Florence, 37, also of South Carolina, and Jackson Tremayne, 38, of Georgia, who remain hospitalized, one with six stab wounds, police added. No one has been arrested.
The attack came nearly two years after a Delaware tourist was killed and set on fire after authorities said he was warned not to take photos while buying drugs at La Perla. A friend of his was beaten but survived.
La Perla is located in the historic part of Puerto Rico's capital known as Old San Juan and became famous after appearing in the video for "Despacito," a song released in 2017 by Puerto Rican singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee.
The community used to be a rough neighborhood considered the island's biggest heroin distribution point, but crime has dropped since a 2011 raid by federal agents.
