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Cruise tourist kills mugger with bare hands
A thieving gang near San Jose, Costa Rica, chose the wrong senior citizens to rob on a tour bus.
A group of a dozen vacationers defended themselves with one man, identified in wire reports as a 70-year-old retired military officer, strangling a 20-year-old would-be robber to death after putting him in a head lock.
Police said the suspect was declared dead from asphyxiation.
The tourist group was on a bus trip during a Carnival cruise.
The group of seniors left on their Carnival cruise ship without being charged.
“They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up,” said Luis Hernandez, police chief of Limon, a city about 80 miles east of San Jose.
The group was climbing out of the van to visit a Caribbean beach when three masked men ran toward them, according to eyewitness accounts. One man held a gun to the head of one tourist, while the two other assailants pulled out knives.
Suddenly, one of the tourists, a US military veteran trained in self defense, jumped out of the van and put the gunman in a headlock, according to Mr Hernandez quoted by AP.
“All of the guests involved, who had booked the cruise together as a group, have opted to continue with their vacation plans. Carnival is providing full support and assistance to the guests,” according to a statement from the cruise line.
The ship, the Carnival Liberty, continued on its scheduled itinerary.
Report by David Wilkening
David
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