Tourist from US mainland who flew to Puerto Rico for Bad Bunny concert
was fatally shot, police say
[August 11, 2025]
By DÁNICA COTO
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A tourist from the U.S. mainland who was
visiting Puerto Rico for Bad Bunny's residency was fatally shot early
Sunday at La Perla, a popular seaside shantytown, police said.
The victim was identified as Kevin Mares, a 25-year-old who lived in New
York, according to a police statement.
The shooting happened in the predawn hours at a nightspot called “Refuge
for Mistreated Men” in La Perla, a coastal community that has struggled
to shed its dark reputation.
Homicide detective Sgt. Arnaldo Ruiz said in a phone interview that the
shooting took place when several people near Mares began arguing and one
pulled out a gun and shot at least three people, including Mares. A
brother and a sister in their mid-40s who live in La Perla were injured
and remain hospitalized.
Ruiz said Mares was an innocent bystander. He was with three other
friends who told police they were in Puerto Rico for one of Bad Bunny's
30 concerts, which have attracted tens of thousands of visitors to the
U.S. territory.
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.
Ruiz said police don’t yet know what the people were arguing about and
don’t have a description of the shooter. “We have very little
information,” he said.
Ruiz added that Mares’ three friends also were from New York. He didn’t
have their hometowns.
San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero told reporters Sunday that he would share
footage from security cameras in the area, adding that Mares' partner
had opted not to visit la Perla with him.
Police said the incident occurred at 4:13 a.m., even though a municipal
code approved in 2023 states that authorized businesses in San Juan can
only serve or sell alcohol from 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. from Sunday to
Thursday, and up to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday if
Monday is a holiday.
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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)
La Perla is located on the outskirts of a historic district popular with
tourists known as Old San Juan. A couple hundred people live in the
shantytown, which once served as Puerto Rico’s biggest distribution
point for heroin and was known for its violence.
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.
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 violence persists.
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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