Q COSTARICA — The triple murder shooting that occurred at Howard’s Cantina, in Santa Ana, on the night of Friday, August 15, had three collateral victims, one who died and two who were seriously injured.
Michael Soto, deputy director of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), explained on Monday that two of the victims, alleged narcos and well-known to police, were sitting at the same table, while the third victim, named Gonazalez, was not with them.
Soto added that the two seriously wounded individuals who were also in the line of fire were collateral targets.
He explained that the gunmen fired clumsily, presumably under the influence, disregarded the presence of children and adults in the popular bar on Mother’s Day, to eliminate their target.
Soto added that the preliminary version indicates that an OIJ officer, who was on his own time, decided to intervene is being reviewed. The officer allegedly gave voice commands and shot the suspects.
The deputy director affirmed that his actions were correct.
The Facts
Two hitmen needed only a few seconds to transform the festive atmosphere of a bar in Lindora, Santa Ana, into a scene of terror. They shot five people: three died on the spot, and two more were taken to a hospital in serious condition.
The OIJ explained the dynamics of this shooting, which occurred just after 7:00 pm.
“The hitmen arrived on a motorcycle; one got off, entered the establishment, and approached a table where five people were sitting. He pulled out a firearm and fired repeatedly. He then returned to his accomplice and fled the scene. At that moment, an OIJ agent who was passing by drew his service weapon and intervened.
“An Alajuela Organized Crime investigator intervened and apparently managed to wound one of the suspects during the escape. The OIJ agent escaped unharmed,” Randall Zúñiga, director of the OIJ, explained.
As a result of the shootout, three men were identified: González, 44 (collateral victim); Sanabria, 36, and Garbanzo, 39 (the intended victims), were killed. The latter, known in the criminal community as “Mufasa,” the alleged leader of a gang known as Los Coqueros, based in Pavas.
According to judicial sources, “Mufasa” had recently formed an alliance with another gang, Los Myrie, to eliminate Los Lara, a criminal gang based in the southern neighborhoods of San José, such as Alajuelita, Desamparados, Hatillo, Pavas, and Tirrases, in Curridabat, which recently allegedly increased acts of violence.
Sanabria, alias Chula, tried to flee from the gunmen, but they chased him and killed him, leaving him lying on the street.
Two other men were injured in Friday’s shooting: a man named Mata, who was taken to Hospital México with a wound to his right leg, and another man named Pérez, who was taken to Hospital Calderón Guardia with a gunshot wound to the chest. Both injured men are also collateral victims.
A total of thirty-three shell casings and two firearms were recovered at the scene and will be inspected as part of the investigation to clarify the events and identify those responsible.
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