U.S. teenager mistakenly killed by Costa Rica hotel guard

YahooNews (Reuters) ^ | 6/3/2011

[South40]

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (Reuters) – A U.S. high school student was shot dead by a hotel security guard in Costa Rica on Thursday after being mistaken for a thief, police said.

Sixteen-year-old Justin Johnston was shot in the chest in the early hours of Thursday as he tried to sneak back into his room, breaking a night curfew on a school trip.

"It appears the hotel guard thought the guest was a thief," police said in a statement.

[pieceofthepuzzle]

Horrible!

[rabscuttle385]

The Kansas teenager was on the trip with 40 other students in the Central American nation, which is famed for its wildlife, rain forests and lava-spewing volcanoes.

[Ronin]

Tragic.

[who knows what evil?]

Sixteen-year-old Justin Johnston was shot in the chest in the early hours of Thursday as he tried to sneak back into his room, breaking a night curfew on a school trip.

Bad idea.

[VanDeKoik]

National Geographic has nice videos of Costa Rica.

It’s far safer than taking kids there.

[South40]

This story intimates Costa Rica is a safe place for tourists. The US State Department disagrees.

CRIME: Crime is a significant concern for Costa Ricans and visitors alike. Local law enforcement agencies have limited capabilities and different standards than U.S. law enforcement.

U.S. citizens are encouraged to take proactive steps to avoid becoming crime victims. Visitors should not walk, hike or exercise alone, and should bear in mind that crowded tourist attractions and resort areas popular with foreign tourists are common venues for criminal activity.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1093.html#crime

[samtheman]

The curfew was there for a reason. Someone failed to get the seriousness of those reasons across to at least one of these teens. Not an easy job, I’m sure.

Not a job I’d ever want to do.

[South40]

Not a job I’d ever want to do.

Nor would I.

[Will88]

The curfew was there for a reason.

A few more details.

Police said the students had been sent to bed at 10 p.m. Wednesday but a group left their rooms and went to another building on the premises. They were returning to their rooms before dawn Thursday through a desolate area when the security guard spotted them and thinking they were thieves opened fire.

There is no way to call this anything but a case of incredibly bad judgment on the part of the security guard. The kids were still on the hotel premises, a hotel that obviously hosts teenaged tour groups, and a security guard opens fire because a group of teenagers is entering motel rooms in the early morning?

This wasn't the first group of teens to ever violate a curfew and they won't be the last. This blame lies 100% on the hotel and the security guard from the information presented.

[samtheman]

Ok, that’s one way of looking at it.

Another way is:

As an American chaperon of American teenagers you have ZERO control over the assorted collection of mental defectives that live south of the border and you BETTER have good control over the teenagers under you care.

Of course I’m not defending the mental defective who fired that gun. But get real. If it wasn’t this mental defective it would be the next one.

Again, the curfew was there for a reason. You can explain the geography of the place all you want but the curfew was there for a reason.

Because they were in a land of mental defectives.

[Malesherbes]

In Central America, Costa Rica is the best of the alternatives, but the whole world is an increasingly dangerous place. Try Detroit, for example. Or, the heavily Moslem city of Malmo, Sweden - even the police are scared there.

[Will88]

Because they were in a land of mental defectives.

If your post is even remotely accurate concerning Costa Rica, then the mental defectives are the adults who approved a trip to CR in the first place, or those adults are spectacular ignoramuses.

Kids will be kids and if a hotel that hosts groups of teenagers can't train their security personnel any better than that then they shouldn't be in the business.

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[South40]

In Central America, Costa Rica is the best of the alternatives

I was there once and encountered no problems; Playa Carrillo and Samara Beach on the Nicoya Peninsula. My cab stalled on a quiet residential street. I was a bit unnerved when the local men came from their homes and approached. I felt guilty later after they did all they could to get the cab going again. The cab eventually started and we were on our way.

I've surfed since 1971 and Costa Rica has some of the best beaches in the world. Of course you must encounter the indigenous people to go there but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

[PowderMonkey]

Lived there and worked there. Incredibly bad judgment on on the school's part. Armed private security is plentiful there for a reason. Forced entry of occupied dwellings, accompanied by the use of extreme violence the norm. Sneak about in the dark of night, and you can expect to stop a bullet from somebody’s private guard. All to often schools take kids to places liked this based on assurances from a teacher who vacationed there, but doesn't have a clue as to what's going on outside the hotel compound. Had the parents read the State Department's warnings, those kids would never have gone there in the first place.

[Tax-chick]

Uh-oh. Unfortunately, young man, you weren’t in Kansas anymore.

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

If I comment, I’ll be flamed. Toto.....

[flowerplough]

“It appears the hotel guard thought the guest was a thief,” police said,

“and here in Costa Rica, it is our custom for private security guards to shoot suspected thieves on sight.”

[LearnsFromMistakes]

This blame lies 100% on the hotel and the security guard from the information presented.

Might be true. I have tried to drill into my kids' heads that a hospital (or morgue) is a terrible place to celebrate a moral victory.