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Guard who shot U.S. student
in hands of prosecutors

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

A security guard has been taken into custody and agents have confiscated his .22 caliber revolver that was used to kill a 16-year-old student from the U.S. state of Kansas.

The man, identified by the last name of Guevara, is a Nicaraguan national who has worked at the La Cangreja Lodge in La Fortuna de San Carlos for about two years.

Dead is Justin Johnston a student at McLouth High School in that Kansas community and a member of the school's Spanish club. The school said in a release that he was on a nine-day trip with 12 students and two district sponsors. The trip was arranged
through EF Educational Tours based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is about 25 miles from Lawrence, a major city and home of the University of Kansas.

District officials said they are working with EF Educational Tours to ensure the safety of the remaining students and to make travel arrangements for an early arrival home. EF Educational Tours is taking steps to make counselors available to the students and sponsors, the school said in a release. District officials have been in close communication with families who have students on the trip, it added.

The district said its primary concern is for the Johnston family and also for the many students and staff members who are affected by this tragedy. The district’s crisis plan has been activated and counselors will be available on site for students and staff today and tomorrow, it added.

The shooting took place at the lodge when the guard appears to have mistook Johnston and some friends as thieves. Judicial agents from the regional office in La Fortuna are investigating. The student was a guest at the lodge. La Fortuna is near the Arenal volcano.

The Judicial Investigating Organization said that the group had orders to be in their rooms by 10 p.m., but it appears that Johnston and others decided to visit another group of students and managed to evade security to do so.

When the were returning to their rooms, they were noticed by the guard, who saw individuals with backpacks, judicial agents said. That caused him to think they were thieves or robbers. agents said. The guard shouted and fired a warning shot in the air, said agents, but this seemed to panic the students. As the group continued to run, the guard fired and hit Johnson once in the chest, agents said.

The cause of death is being verified in an autopsy. The guard is in the hands of prosecutors. He was unable to produce documents saying that he had a legal right to carry the weapon, said police at the scene.

Mine too, and the K*D certainly did not deserve to be shot. However...

Hopefully this will serve as a warning to other "dumb americans". Don't do stupid stuff in other countries, unless you are prepared to accept the consequences. They are not all exactly like the USA, and people behave differently.

SR

Exactly my point. This is not a commentary on what is right or wrong, just what is a fact. The typical American 16-year-old is quite likely to get shot in a number of countries that I have visited. Tolerance in the USA is extremely high compared to a lot of other places. If your K*D is not mature enough to avoid sneaking into hotels at 4am, he doesn't need to travel abroad. The contempt of the law that many (not all) American teenagers have will get them beat or worse. I have personally seen young Americans get arrested or worse (a few punches thrown) in a few places. Police in many countries are not afraid to go all Rodney King Beatdown on you, and they will never get in trouble for it. You don't have to agree with the law, but if you're in their country you do have to respect it, or you will suffer the consequences. And never forget that the natives are always going to get extra points over the foreigner in court.

I hope the security guard gets a stiff sentence. But the K*D will still be dead.

SR