Korean tourist killed in shooting
A vacation turned deadly Thursday evening.
On Friday morning, traces of blood can still be seen on the road at the entrance to Gun Beach in Tumon. It's where a male Korean tourist, who was visiting Guam celebrating retirement with his wife, was shot.
The event sparked shock among the administration, local authorities, tourism officials and the island community. A joint conference was held Friday morning .
Korean Consulate Head of Mission Kook Kim had one request for authorities, “Arrest the suspect in no time and carry out a total investigation to bring them to justice.”
Governor Lou Leon Guerrero met with the victim's wife after hearing about the shooting.
She said, “At this point, she asked questions of why? At this point I have told her we will not tolerate this kind of crime in our island.”
According to Guam Police Department (GPD) Chief Stephen Ignacio, it was Thursday night between 7:40 p.m. and 8 p.m. A Korean couple was walking toward Tsubaki Towers from Gun Beach when an older model, dark colored SUV approached from behind.
Ignacio added, “At that point the passenger exited the vehicle brandishing a firearm and demanded their belongings. A struggle ensued.”
The man was shot and taken to the Guam Regional Medical City (GRMC) where he died from his injuries Friday morning.
Ignacio stated he is pouring all of their available resources into this investigation working also with the Attorney General of Guam and the Guam Visitors Bureau (GVB). Chief Ignacio also confirmed that GVB is offering a $50,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person/persons responsible.
“Guam is known to be a safe tourist destination. That's why these people come to the island. So we need to do our best as a community, not only as GPD but with all of our law enforcement partners to keep our community safe,” Ignacio stated.
Despite the tragedy, GVB President and CEO Carl Gutierrez assured visitors Guam is safe. “We invite them to a safe destination, we want to ensure that. So the Attorney General and the Governor is going to give us the permission to go out there and play hard ball...we are going to make is safe in Tumon,” Gutierrez said.
If you have any information, you are asked to call GPD at: (671) 475-8615 or 8617.