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Post by elexpatriado on Jan 15, 2017 15:20:13 GMT -5
Well, I knew it would happen someday. I pride myself in being street smart and not doing stupid things in Colombia, and have never been a victim of or a witness to any major violence during this time. Until last night that is. Sometimes you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. My GF and I were in an upscale restaurant in the best barrio in Pereira and witnessed close hand a sicario assasination. Needless to say it was a traumátic experience. Okay, so here is the story as we saw it. Me and my girlfriend were in this Peruvian restaurant we always go to in Barrio Pinares called La Piura. We have been there many times before. We were finishing our meal and had paid the bill and were waiting for a Taxi. The restaurant seemed empty.Service was bad , as usual in Colombia, but I guess they were paying attention to the other couple guys in the corner near the bar and kitchen (at the time I didnt know there were other people in the restaurant). All of a sudden "Bang Bang Bang" ...three loud explosions. I knew it wasn't Christmas or New Years anymore, so knew it wasn't fireworks. I grabbed my GF and we both collapsed under the table. She was facing me, and I was embracing her, facing the bar and kitchen. I saw a guy standing over something or someone emptying his gun, 3 more times into the victim. When the shock of what I saw hit me I began to cry and whisper " el es matando el masero".."He is killing the waiter". I didnt know until later that there were two other guys in the other side of the restaurant, about 6 m away. A few seconds later the guy ran outside, and I heard a moto come around, stop, and take off rapidly. I then heard people yelling and screaming for an ambulance, a vehicle starting up. After a minute or two , sirens and ambulance and police cars . They came pretty fast, I have to admit. We thought it was okay to get up. My girlfriend went into shock, started crying, breathing heavily and saying "porque? Porque ?" . We talked to the waiter, and he told us it was client who was shot.I tried to comfort her and said the guy they shot was probably just as bad as them. She said "now you know why I want to leave Colombia". The paramedics came over and helped comfort her and eventually the shock subsided. The waiter said the guy made a circuit of the parking lot (my guess was to identify the victims car), came in the entrance , shot the victim, then left to the outside where the guy on the moto picked hm up. Finally, our taxi came and we left. Further to the story, as told by my GF, after talking to her lawyer Friends, and the article attached below, the victims name is Jhon Jairo, also a sicario or Narco, from Armenia, who has the Alias "Pinocchio".The sicarios were also from Armenia. Apparently , the victim had a friend, who was uninjured, got in his truck, chased the perps, encountered them 2 blocks later, ran overthem with his truck,and shot and wounded one of them. Apparently one is still at large, but the victims friend and the wounded Perp are in custody. Look at the video in the link below. After we left, the cops just loaded the guys body in a Taxi. Bizarre. I guess the ambulances don't make thetrip to the morgue. noticiasnvc.com/fuerte-tiroteo-en-zona-rosa-de-pereira-deja-un-muerto-y-un-herido/Modify message « Last Edit: Today at 01:12:59 PM by Elexpatriado »
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Post by caliconnection on Jan 15, 2017 16:26:11 GMT -5
Holy shit. Glad you are both ok. Even though you weren't targetted you could have easily been an "innocent bystander" due to a stray bullet.
That's also one of my favorite restaurants in Pereira.
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Post by jabberwocky on Jan 15, 2017 16:42:09 GMT -5
First, sorry to hear about what happened.
I know percentage wise its more dangerous in Colombia - but if you might remind the GF of the 5 dead at the airport in Ft Lauderdale last week - shot while waiting on their luggage - for no apparent reason. Unless you want to move to a small town in Iowa - you can be at the wrong place at the wrong time most anywhere.
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Post by elexpatriado on Jan 15, 2017 17:14:03 GMT -5
In retrospect , I think the guy who they loaded in the taxi was one of the original shooters, who was run over and shot by the original victims friend
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Post by barrumundi on Jan 15, 2017 17:51:46 GMT -5
Maybe someone should do a Trip Advisor report on the restaurant.
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Post by sedelen on Jan 15, 2017 18:49:51 GMT -5
Wrong Place, wrong time is right! What a way to spend an enjoyable evening with your girlfriend, the drama was probably just too much for her. You fared well, probably really shaken up afterwards. We live in a world or ever increasing violence, we could all end up being witnesses to stuff like that, or know people personally that have. And so it is, what do you do? Shy away from public places where you can be taken out for no apparent reason. But here it appears there was a dispute that was being settled, and you became a witness. Not so random an act as in Ft. Lauderdale where a "crazy" indiscriminately killed people for whatever lame reason he had in his mind. You going back to that restaurant again? probably safer now, but the memories might sour the mood. So far the only dead people I've seen here were two motorcyclists lying in the road, separate accidents. Ruined those days, but now I'm getting used to seeing bikes lying in the street, saw one just yesterday in Belen. Now a shoot-out or violent robbery, I'm sure it would affect me in a way where I'd further reduce my chances to be a victim, witness, or whatever. This reminds me of that gringo that was murdered called, "Medellin Paisa" who was shot to death at a small outside restaurant by the guys sitting at the next table. www.expat-chronicles.com/2012/09/noah-goldberg-medellin-colombia-sex-tourism/
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Post by elexpatriado on Jan 15, 2017 18:51:46 GMT -5
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Post by jafo19d on Jan 15, 2017 18:55:13 GMT -5
After 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan I try to always choose a seat that gives me the best possible observation post. Not paranoid and don't have PTSD but I'm careful.
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Post by sedelen on Jan 15, 2017 19:41:33 GMT -5
After 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan I try to always choose a seat that gives me the best possible observation post. Not paranoid and don't have PTSD but I'm careful. I've never felt comfortable in bars or whatever on stools with my back to crazy people. I like to see all that is going on around me, in front of me.
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Post by makopp5 on Jan 15, 2017 19:53:16 GMT -5
In 20 years never happened to me.
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Post by billyb on Jan 15, 2017 19:54:24 GMT -5
It's uncanny how many sicarios in Colombia are called Jhon Jairo. Warning to any gringos with barrio girlfriends with sons named Jhon Jairo.
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Post by billforce on Jan 15, 2017 21:46:24 GMT -5
I had the same experience 10 years ago just before I moved to Antioquia from Pereira in a restaurant in Pinares. Guy on a moto shot one of my wife's acquaintances 9 times with a pistol and fled. The guy died right in front of his wife and young child, of course the child was terrified. The dead guy was a nephew of my best friend and my friend told me he was a NARCO and had many questionable deals with Mafios's. The last week I spent in Pereira the different factions killed 13 people, one a distant relative by marriage. They found him sitting in his car slumped over the wheel shot several times. He was a restaurant owner in Pereira for many years but had always walked a thin line between business and narcotics. There is a lot of Narc activity in Pereira as a hub but many of the Narc's are from Cartago and Armenia. Cartago has a whole street with Narco Mansions that look out of place in a tiny town like Cartago but the Mafioso's established a Narcotics center in Cartago evidently in competition with the Cali Cartel. There are Narco associated deaths every week between the three towns but I still like Pereira.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2017 21:59:08 GMT -5
Glad you and your girlfriend are safe. We were in Pereira yesterday. Our friends from Sabaneta did not like the vibe in that city, and wanted to go back to our hotel at the termales right away. In Colombia, always expect the unexpected.
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Post by billforce on Jan 15, 2017 21:59:39 GMT -5
After 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan I try to always choose a seat that gives me the best possible observation post. Not paranoid and don't have PTSD but I'm careful. I've never felt comfortable in bars or whatever on stools with my back to crazy people. I like to see all that is going on around me, in front of me. Wild Bill Hickok was known to never sit with his back to the front door during a poker game. I guess he had enough problems keeping track of the ones inside already.
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Post by coolcoil on Jan 16, 2017 4:53:57 GMT -5
Wow. My sympathies - I've been lucky to never have witnessed anything like that. I've been close to it in the USA though. The first weekend after I moved into my house in York, PA a guy was shot in the alley behind my house. I had just pulled away from the front of my house in the car, and I heard the gunshots. I knew it wasn't firecrackers because of the high pitch and even spacing, but I couldn't identify the direction or distance and so shrugged it off. I returned to the house a few hours later and was filled in by my neighbors.
We also had an attempted hit at a small bar not more than fifteen feet from my wife's grandmother's front door. In this case, the intended victim had a gun and killed all three of the perpetrators. I was out of town at the time, but my wife told me that she heard that bullets were flying everywhere in the street. She saw the aftermath, and there was blood everywhere. At the time, we lived a block away and my wife and kids went to grandma's house about three times per day. We were darned lucky that they didn't walk into a crossfire.
I hope you do not blame yourself for not being street smart. Unless you never leave your house you're always going to run the risk of running into something like this. I would think, given the victim's profession, that he probably had more street smarts than any of us, but that didn't save him.
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Post by jafo19d on Jan 16, 2017 10:52:30 GMT -5
Strange how different people react in violent situations. My interpreters in Iraq would get very emotional when we killed or wounded an Iraqi.
I never cared and in fact I started getting worried that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't care less. One of the last times I saw someone get shot was a guy wearing a real bright white man dress. Our patrol shot him right in the guy and there was lots of blood. When I came up to him the first thing that I thought was how cool the contrast of the bright red blood against the white dress. I don't think the poor guy made it.
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Post by elexpatriado on Jan 16, 2017 12:09:13 GMT -5
Strange how different people react in violent situations. My interpreters in Iraq would get very emotional when we killed or wounded an Iraqi. I never cared and in fact I started getting worried that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't care less. One of the last times I saw someone get shot was a guy wearing a real bright white man dress. Our patrol shot him right in the guy and there was lots of blood. When I came up to him the first thing that I thought was how cool the contrast of the bright red blood against the white dress. I don't think the poor guy made it. I have never been in a war thank god. Its the first time I have seen someone killed up close. I read a lot of documentaries about war and the like, and how people get desensitized. Probably next time I wont be wimpering as much like a school girl. Dont think thats necesarily a Good thing though..
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seatx
Junior Member
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Post by seatx on Jan 16, 2017 13:55:13 GMT -5
My wife's family lives in Pinares. I believe one of her family knew one of the people involved, although I wasn't paying much attention when she told me the story last night. I'll be there on vacation next week.
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Post by jafo19d on Jan 16, 2017 14:13:24 GMT -5
Strange how different people react in violent situations. My interpreters in Iraq would get very emotional when we killed or wounded an Iraqi. I never cared and in fact I started getting worried that there was something wrong with me because I couldn't care less. One of the last times I saw someone get shot was a guy wearing a real bright white man dress. Our patrol shot him right in the guy and there was lots of blood. When I came up to him the first thing that I thought was how cool the contrast of the bright red blood against the white dress. I don't think the poor guy made it. I have never been in a war thank god. Its the first time I have seen someone killed up close. I read a lot of documentaries about war and the like, and how people get desensitized. Probably next time I wont be wimpering as much like a school girl. Dont think thats necesarily a Good thing though.. My desentization has nothing to do with exposure during war. The first time I lived in Colombia (this is my 2nd) I was a teenager and came here for 3 years. I was in a real bad accident between two buses and there was one fatality. The guy that collected the bus fare got caught between the two "flotas" and was mangled to death. Even though I was about 14 it didn't bother me and I shrugged it off when I saw his body and concrentrated on getting people off the bus and tending to the injured. Although I was the kid on the bus it was me who yelled at people to chill out and to not form a stampede. Funny thing is that I hunt and I hate seeing the dead animal once I shoot. For me that's the least enjoyable part of hunting.
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Post by mudd on Jan 16, 2017 15:10:39 GMT -5
sounds like medellin, not pereria, wow but thats colombia, " wrong place at wrong time"
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Post by búfalo on Jan 16, 2017 15:55:31 GMT -5
Now we can really say, a little late, "welcome to colombia"
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Post by elexpatriado on Jan 16, 2017 15:57:12 GMT -5
Its in all the news. I am back in Pereira visiting an amiga.
All the taxi drivers know about it.
The vídeo of the COP loading the guy in the car is quite a hit.
I guess he finally died.
From.my memory , he could have been thecguy doing the original shooting.
Short dark hair, relatively young, thin
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Post by búfalo on Jan 16, 2017 15:59:44 GMT -5
I'd check the gf out. Remeber her first reaction wanting to leabe Colombia?
Younjust got set up for a marraige and move to gringolndia jajajaja
Seriously, glad you survived and all.
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Post by búfalo on Jan 16, 2017 16:01:39 GMT -5
Shit, forgot to say DISAPPEAR! You don't want to be kown as a witness. Not to freak you out but I 've never seen anything here...
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Post by elexpatriado on Jan 16, 2017 19:57:38 GMT -5
I'd check the gf out. Remeber her first reaction wanting to leabe Colombia? Younjust got set up for a marraige and move to gringolndia jajajaja Seriously, glad you survived and all. She knows if I leave Colombia , it will be to another shit hole Latín Country.Too old and no interest to.live in Canadá or US. Just more panic talk on her part
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Post by búfalo on Jan 16, 2017 21:50:55 GMT -5
OK, you say so. But if it happens again real soon you'll know why!
Funny how all the POS's involved were from Armenia. I was just there and going back soon. Was just thinking how I felt the place safer this time.
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Post by nickdanger on Jan 16, 2017 23:21:19 GMT -5
you left out the most important part - how was the food?
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Post by barrumundi on Jan 17, 2017 0:06:41 GMT -5
you left out the most important part - how was the food? "To die for!"
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Post by jafo19d on Jan 17, 2017 7:16:44 GMT -5
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Post by wildstubby on Jan 17, 2017 8:01:31 GMT -5
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