AP reports that a mugger in Costa Rica picked the wrong group of seniors, one which obviously included a retired American with expertise in hand-to-hand combat.
A tour group of U.S. senior citizens fought off a band of muggers in eastern Costa Rica, sending two of the assailants fleeing and killing a third, police said Thursday.
One of the tourists — a retired U.S. serviceman whom officials estimated was in his 70s — allegedly put Warner Segura in a headlock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus Wednesday, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 130 kilometers (80 miles) east of San Jose.
The Americans had arrived in Limon on the Carnival Cruise Lines ship Carnival Liberty.
“It was a group of 12 senior citizens from the United States who were going to spend a few hours in the area, but their tour bus entered a dangerous sector known as Cieneguita”, Hernandez said.
The tourists drove Segura to the local Red Cross branch but he was declared dead, Hernandez said. He declined to give the names or hometowns of the tourists.
The Red Cross also treated one of the tourists for an anxiety attack, Hernandez said.
Costa Rican authorities said they did not plan to file charges against the tourists, who left on their cruise ship after the incident.
“They were in their right to defend themselves after being held up,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez said Segura had previous charges against him for assaults.
It certainly sounds like he broke the mugger’s veterbrae, not his clavicle.
An elderly man would be likely to be pessimistic about his chances in a contest of speed or strength with a significantly younger opponent. Consequently, the American retiree must have resorted to a lethal attack. If he were younger, doubtless, he would have incapacitated and not killed the mugger.
The New York Post identifies the American hero as Allan Clady, a 70 year old retired Marine.
Doug G.
JDZ..So, you think the 70 year old should have shown restraint and let the guy and his friends rob someone else? Think of that Marine as one of the American Heroes that made sacrifices so that idiots like you can say this kind of trash.
JDZ
The last time I made a citizen’s arrest, I only incapacitated the criminal, and I could have killed him.
One normally leaves punishment to the judicial system.
In any event, I wasn’t really disapproving of the 70 year old killing the mugger. I was just speculating on the reason why the force used would have been lethal.
David
Harry Dupa
The attacker, who was ‘fatally injured’, according to numerous accounts, was armed with a .38 caliber revolver, and discharged two rounds into the bus roof. To me,this constitutes an attack involving lethal force, justifying a retaliation in-kind. The attacker was also reported to have been holding the weapon to the head of a 54 yr old woman prompting the Marine’s intervention.
The ONLY thing I have a problem with regarding this story is the references, in some accounts, to Alan Clady being described as a “Former Marine”. There ain’t no such thing! Once a Marine, Always a Marine!
Semper Fi!
JDZ
Good point!
I never saw any references to the gun in the early press accounts. That shows I need to look for follow-ups more often.
Thanks for the note,
David
Loui
This story really made me feel good. I know that is probably wrong but I love the fact that a senior citizen did this!
Dr Duck
I suggest that what we have here is an accidental fatality. The neurovascular bundle containing the brachial plexus of nerves and the large subclavian artery and vein are right below the collar bone. A healthy bone always breaks with a spiral fracture, which usually has a very sharp end. The mugger-thief just got luck: the sharp end sliced into the subclavian artery and he bled to death on the way to the hospital. Special ops soldiers are trained to kill with a knife driven in just behind the collar bone because it’s so much quieter than letting someone gasp through a cut throat.
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