Pablo Fanjul Garcia, a Spanish citizen living in the Dominican Republic's second largest city, Santiago de los Caballeros, was shot and killed by an unknown assailant(s) yesterday (August 25). Sr. Fanjul was reportedly shot several times while walking his dog in Leon Jimenes Park in the Reparto del Este section of the city.
COMMENT: The attack was a drive-by shooting, so it is uncertain how many assailants there were or what their motive might have been. Clearly, the manner in which Fanjul was attacked rules out robbery as a motive. Furthermore, the number of times he was shot is indicative that his assailant wanted to murder him.
Although the Dominican Republic has its fair share of economic crime, apparent assassinations of foreigners is very, very rare. What is known is that Sr. Fanjul regularly walked his dog in predictable patterns, so that might well be an indicator that he was surveilled prior to the attack. Santiago de los Caballeros has a population of nearly 600,000 people. Consequently, whomever the assailant was, he had pinpointed Sr. Fanjul's patterns of behavior.
No arrests have been made in the shooting.
COMMENT: The attack was a drive-by shooting, so it is uncertain how many assailants there were or what their motive might have been. Clearly, the manner in which Fanjul was attacked rules out robbery as a motive. Furthermore, the number of times he was shot is indicative that his assailant wanted to murder him.
Although the Dominican Republic has its fair share of economic crime, apparent assassinations of foreigners is very, very rare. What is known is that Sr. Fanjul regularly walked his dog in predictable patterns, so that might well be an indicator that he was surveilled prior to the attack. Santiago de los Caballeros has a population of nearly 600,000 people. Consequently, whomever the assailant was, he had pinpointed Sr. Fanjul's patterns of behavior.
No arrests have been made in the shooting.
