Earlier this week, a family friend allegedly planned the robbery that killed a 9-year-old American boy in the Dominican Republic.
Gioser Luís Feliz arrived at Santiago’s Cibao International Airport on Wednesday for a spring break trip with his family shortly before their car was targeted by a gang of thieves.
Tomás Peña Morel, 32, was arrested along with five others in connection with the murder of Gioser Luis Feliz, who was shot in the head after leaving the airport with father Sergio Luis Feliz.
Morel is a friend of the older Feliz, according to officials. Feliz had warned travelers not to share information on social media when traveling to the Dominican Republic after posting photos of the family at JFK Airport as they waited to board their flight on Wednesday.
“It was an attempt to rob me of my belongings without knowing who it would be because it was my first time coming to Santiago,” said Sergio, who admitted that he and his son would be the ideal victims.
Tomás Peña Morel (pictured), 32, was arrested along with five others in connection with the murder of Gioser Luis Feliz, who was shot in the head after leaving the airport with father Sergio Luis Feliz
A friend of the family is said to have planned the robbery that killed 9-year-old American boy Gioser Luís Feli (pictured) in the Dominican Republic earlier this week
Luis Angel Vargas Brito, 18, Derlin Javier Mercado Martínez, César Junior Ulloa Cuevas, José Manuel Almonte Santana, 20, and Elian Martínez Sánchez, 22, were also all arrested.
Five women were also taken into police custody but have not been charged, nor have police confirmed their connection to the murder.
Gioser’s uncle told the media that Feliz and Morel’s father have known each other for more than 10 years and were “actually brothers.”
“Since I learned about the death of the child Gioser Luis Féliz, I have been following up on the case,” Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a statement.
“I have been informed by the director of the National Police of the arrest of the 5 criminals who committed this heinous crime. Now justice must be ensured in the courts,” he added.
The family is now working to return Gioser’s body to New York so that a funeral can be held.
Reports indicated that the driver of the car refused to stop after it was attacked by the robbers, who then opened fire before driving away.
Gioser was tragically hit in the head and died in the hospital while undergoing surgery, according to Journal Libre.
Morel, seen here with Feliz, had been friends with the father for over a decade
Gioser Luís Feli arrived at Cibao International Airport in Santiago on Wednesday for a spring break trip with his family shortly before their car was targeted by a gang of thieves
Gioser’s uncle told the media that Feliz’ father Sergio (pictured) and Morel have known each other for more than 10 years and were “actually brothers”.
The tragic shooting happened after the family was picked up by an unnamed friend of the boy’s father, Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo.
After landing in the Dominican Republic for the child’s spring break, they were expected to spend several days in the country before returning to New York next Monday.
In a video posted after he lost his son, Sergio said the family was intercepted by the robbers as they drove through a toll booth.
The gang then opened fire as the driver of the car, one of the father’s friends, refused to stop and tried to flee.
One of the bullets hit the boy in the head and he was rushed to a local hospital for emergency surgery before being pronounced dead. His body will be transported back to the United States.
The attackers fled the scene in a white Hyundai, which police used to track and arrest them after discovering they had rented it shortly before the botched robbery.
A press release added that the men “admitted their participation in the shooting.”
“These detainees were captured by video surveillance cameras in this terminal and from there they followed the victim’s father,” a police spokesman added after the arrests.
The boy’s father, Sergio Luis Feliz Mancebo, told police the robbers opened fire when the driver of the car refused to stop
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said he was ‘following up’ the matter after the boy’s death shocked the nation
The boy’s father warned travelers not to share information on social media when traveling to the Dominican Republic after posting photos of the family at JFK Airport as they waited to board their flight on Wednesday.
The 9-year-old’s death sent shockwaves across the Dominican Republic, with news of the arrests being hailed by the country’s president, Luis Abinader.
“Since I heard about the death of the child Gioser Luis Féliz, I have been following the case,” he said on Twitter.
“I have been informed by the director of the National Police of the arrest of the 5 criminals who committed this heinous crime. Now justice must be ensured in the courts.’
The investigation into the shooting is still ongoing.