Overview
- Kelly Crispin says a wrong turn near San Juan around 1:45–2:00 a.m. on Jan. 3 led to their car being boxed in by more than a dozen masked men with AR‑style rifles.
- Omar Padilla Vélez, a 33‑year‑old DuPont chemist, was shot in the head, Crispin was wounded in the hand and shoulder, and a friend in the car was not injured.
- After the gunfire, attackers searched Crispin’s purse, briefly took and returned her phone, and directed the group out of the neighborhood, according to her account.
- The victims met an ambulance and went to Centro Médico de Puerto Rico; Padilla Vélez died on Jan. 22 after a catastrophic stroke attributed to a bullet fragment.
- San Juan police say the case remains under investigation with no arrests, as Crispin publicly urges greater attention and alleges a slow initial police response.