By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh

On Monday, before the break of dawn, three Americans were stabbed in the La Perla neighborhood of Puerto Rico.

As reported by the NY Post, the stabbing victims include: Carlos Sanchez Brown, 39, from South Carolina; Wallace Florence, 37, also from South Carolina; and Jackson Tremayne, 38, from Georgia.  The incident was confirmed by municipal commissioner José Juan García, as first reported on WAPA-TV.  At approximately 4 a.m., Brown began recording a video of a local hamburger cart, with his cell phone.  He was warned to stop filming and was asked by several locals to leave.  Standing alongside his two friends, he didn’t heed to warning and kept filming.

Not long after, the trio of tourists encountered the suspect, described as a fair-skinned man with long white hair, who allegedly assaulted Florence with a blow to the head, as reported by Telemundo PR.  Now the three visitors tried to escape, moving towards the Old San Juan neighborhood.  Police say, they soon became aware that they were being followed.  The victims had reached Imperial Street, near the Museum of Art and History, when another suspect armed with a knife stabbed Brown in the left forearm and then stabbed the blade six times into Tremayne’s body, including in the left side of his chest, upper left side of the abdomen, left arm and back.  Tremayne and Brown were taken to the local hospital via ambulances, while Florence reportedly refused medical attention. There have not yet been reports regarding the victims’ conditions.

Thus far, there have not been any arrests made in relation to the bloody attack.

The La Perla neighborhood, located in the historic part of Puerto Rico’s capital known as Old San Juan, is a famous seaside tourist destination.  As per the Post, it gained fame after it was featured in the video of “Despacito,” a hit song released in 2017 by Puerto Rican singers Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee (the song was subsequently remixed by Justin Bieber gaining an even wider audience).

This is not the first attack in the neighborhood.  Almost two years ago, in April 2021, in a similar attack, a 24-year-old tourist from Wilmington, Delaware, named Tariq Quadir Loat, was killed and set on fire in La Perla.  As per NBC, police had said that he too had been warned not to take photographs, while buying drugs, because it would attract police. The victim’s friend was also beaten, but he escaped and survived.  Loat was reported missing, and his burned body was later discovered in Vega Baja, a municipality on the coast of north central Puerto Rico located some 20 miles from San Juan.

The neighborhood had once been a dangerous slum, known as the Puerto Rico’s largest distribution center for heroin.  In 2011, a federal raid improved conditions and crime in the area.   In 2017, the La Perla Community Board launched beautification efforts, painting 375 houses in bright colors, including pink, yellow and green, in an effort to revitalize the neighborhood.