What to know
- Gioser Luis Feliz Camilo, a 9-year-old NYC boy, was shot in the head while visiting the Dominican Republic on spring break; it happened not long after he left the airport with his father. He died
- Six men in the Dominican Republic have been arrested, including one described as the boy's father's best friend
- The Bronx fourth-grader's funeral and burial is this Monday in New York
Family and loved ones in New York gathered on Monday to say their final goodbyes to Luis Feliz Camilo, the 9-year-old boy who was murdered in the Dominican Republic during a trip last month that was supposed to be a fun spring break with his family.
The first wake for the little boy began on Sunday in the Bronx and a second one was held Monday. His funeral is expected to be at 12:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Cemetery in Yonkers.
The father and mother of the child were surrounded since Sunday by an entire community from the Bronx. Their son, Gioser Luis Feliz Camilo, a fourth-grader, died on April 19 shortly after leaving the Cibao International Airport when a group of men allegedly followed their car and tried to stop them. The boy's father, Sergio Luis Feliz, and at least one other person were also in the vehicle, heading to the town of Villa Vásquez, when they were cut off.
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"They intercepted us, we did not stop, we continued. When we left, they fired and that shot hit my child," the boy's father, Sergio Luis Feliz, said during one service.
After the tragedy, a Santiago district judge ordered pretrial detention for the 6 defendants in the murder and what it was supposed to be a robbery. One of them was described as the boy's father's best friend.
"Of course I know, he was the only one who had information about me," said Sergio Luis Feliz. "I want his family to know something, that if they are in prison today it is because they were part of the crime."
Local
Luis Angel Vargas Brito, Derlin Javier Mercado Martinez, Cesar Junior Ulloa Cuevas, Jose Manuel Almonte Santana, Elian Martínez Sánchez and Tomas Morel, who would be the father´s best friend, were arrested and charged with murder.
"I thank the police in the Dominican Republic, they have done a good job, and now I trust in justice. God is up there, He knows," said Sergio Feliz.
The minor's father, who was wearing a T-shirt with the last photo taken with his son, sent a message to the authorities on behalf of him and the child's mother, who did not stop crying during the wake.
"Who is going to return him to me? What we have to do is fight for justice, and there are 30 more people that we want them to arrest," he added.
When the crime happened, the president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Abinader, confirmed some of the arrests on Twitter and said he had been following "this horrendous crime" since he first learned of the boy's death.
"Now justice must be ensured in the courts," his translated tweet read.
The case remains under investigation.
