A 17-year-old Maryland boy was killed and two of his family members were injured in a shooting in Puerto Rico Saturday.
Carlos Aníbal Rosado Martínez is accused of shooting Tommy Grays and his uncle and stepfather on a beach in the Isla Verde resort area after an argument.
Tommy’s father said his son is unfairly being made out to be a villain by some on the island.
“My boy was an innocent kid with not a single violent bone in his body,” he said. “He had never been in a physical fight a day in his life and he lost his life, and it’s being said he was being violent. Makes no sense.”
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He said the argument involved another family member and was over when the shooter grabbed a gun.
“My son had actually stopped the situation happening,” Tommy’s father said. “He then walked back to the beach and was in the water with his stepfather when the guy came running back up with the gun shooting at them.”
Tommy was the third tourist killed in Puerto Rico in the past two months. His dad is concerned efforts to protect the tourist economy is affecting public opinion in the case.
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“What is happening is it’s being spinned that the tourist was an aggressor in the situation, and that’s not the case at all,” he said.
He flew to the island after he got the call about his son’s death and is trying to get answers and get his son’s body home.
“I just want to get my babies home and in a safe place, and I just never want to see this place again.”
Tommy lived in Olney and was a rising senior at Blake High School.
“Although he was fairly new to the school community, he had developed strong relationships with many students and staff in such a short period of time,” the principal wrote in a letter to the school community. “His smile was contagious.”
“He was so excited about it and he won’t see his first day as a senior,” his dad said.
Tommy's stepfather was shot in the face and remains in the hospital.
The 23-year-old suspect faces murder, attempted murder and gun charges.
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