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 three were then attacked and chased into Old San Juan, where they were stabbed, NotiCentro reports. The tourists were taking photos of a food cart at about 4:11 a.m. before being approached by an alleged attacker with long, white hair.
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.
The suspect remains at large.
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.
Tourists can view the Atlantic Ocean and the iconic El Bowl, a skateboarding bowl near the coastline.
Also, in 2017, the music video for the song “Despacito” by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee was filmed in La Perla, sparking an increased interest in visiting the area.