Thread: Immigrant Kills 4 at Gathering in Miami, Then Kills Self

Mar 15, 12:15 PM EDT

Man kills 4 at gathering in Miami, then kills self

By TAMARA LUSH
Associated Press Writer

MIAMI, Fla. (AP) -- A man shot four people to death at a family gathering early Sunday, then went home and killed himself, police said.

The man may have been upset because his wife had left him, according to a sergeant with the Miami Police Department's homicide division.

Officers got a call shortly after midnight that numerous shots had been fired and a red pickup truck had been spotted leaving the scene. They arrived and found four bodies.

Juan Sosa, who lives a block away, was out walking his dog early Sunday when he heard two shots and saw people running toward him, screaming. Then he heard as many as two dozen more shots and ducked behind a large tree to call police.

"I didn't want to get hit," he said.

Soon after, someone called 911 to say a building about three miles away was on fire and more shots had been fired. That's officials found the alleged gunman dead.

Janseen Almodovar, who lives across the street, rushed outside when he heard people screaming and honking. He said the entire building and a truck out front were in flames.

"We thought the truck was going to blow up," Almodovar said.

Panicked neighbors weren't sure if anyone was inside the one-story ivory stucco building, but they couldn't knock because the fire was so intense.

Police did not release the names of those who died because family members hadn't been notified.

Landlord Abel Loredo, who owns building where the alleged gunman shot himself, said the man had lived there for five years and had always been on time with the rent for his one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment.

Loredo declined to identify the man but said he had moved from Cuba about a decade ago and was very nice. The man was a cook at a restaurant in nearby Little Havana for a time before becoming an electrician a few years ago.

Neighbors said there had never been any problems with police and the man and his wife were often seen in their yard barbecuing. Loredo said the man's wife and her son had lived with him at some point, but he didn't know if they were still living there.

Sosa, who lives in the quiet neighborhood where the family gathering took place, said about 20 people ran into the street after the shots were fired. The last person he saw was a limping man who got into a red pickup truck and sped away without turning his lights on.

Sosa said he had seen the truck driving around the neighborhood earlier and that his father remembered seeing it several times in the last few weeks.

He did not know the people who were killed but said he felt badly for them.

"I feel sorry for the family," he said. "There's no excuse for that."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... gD96UIJ580

Personal comment removed from top of article.

Wet Foot/Dry Foot needs to stop too!

While this is a very tragic story, I was not aware that people could "move from Cuba" legally now.

The wet foot, dry foot policy is the name given to a consequence of the 1995 revision of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966 that says, essentially, that anyone who fled Cuba and got into the United States would be allowed to pursue residency a year later. After talks with the Cuban government, the Clinton administration came to an agreement with Cuba that it would stop admitting people found at sea. Since then, in what has become known as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, a Cuban caught on the waters between the two nations (i.e., with "wet feet") would summarily be sent home or to a third country. One who makes it to shore ("dry feet") gets a chance to remain in the United States, and later would qualify for expedited "legal permanent resident" status and U.S. citizenship.

Cuban Americans can go home more easily under Obama rules

By William E. Gibson
March 15, 2009

Reporting from Washington -- Cuban Americans' travel to the communist island nation just got easier under guidelines issued last week by the Obama administration.

The Treasury Department confirmed that Cuban Americans may visit extended relatives as well as close family members once a year and spend as much as $179 a day without fear of prosecution, effective immediately.

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The guidelines signal a trend toward looser enforcement of the U.S. embargo on Cuba.

"I know people are celebrating today," said Silvia Wilhelm of Miami, director of the Cuban American Commission for Family Rights, who wants all Americans to be able to visit Cuba.

"I'm sure we'll see an increase in travel, maybe by 20% or 25%," she predicted. "But the main thing is that this addresses a human need for people to see their families."


Many Cuban Americans are eager to get started, and travel providers are gearing up to serve them.

Reinaldo Escobar, 55, of Miami plans to get on a plane to Havana as soon as possible to visit his mother in the hospital. Under the previous rules, he was forbidden from returning to Cuba for two more years. Now he can go without evading the law, which many do by traveling through other countries.

"I have to go no matter what," Escobar said. "People should be able to visit family whenever they want."

Tico Travel in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has gotten more calls and e-mails from Cuban Americans wanting to book travel to the island, said co-owner Rob Hodel.

"With general tourism down, this is going to be a bigger piece of our business," said Hodel, who has redesigned his Cuba travel website and plans to hire more staffers.

The actions by Congress and the Treasury Department are expected to reverse the downward trend of travel to Cuba by undoing limits imposed by President Bush in 2004. Under the Bush rules, Cuban Americans could visit only once every three years for no more than 14 days, and could not spend more than $50 a day.

The old rules were rarely enforced but still discouraged travel, according to those who operate direct flights to Cuba. There's no way to know how many Americans go to Cuba, according to the Government Accountability Office, because so many people go through other countries and Cuba obscures travelers' origins.

"Our business obviously suffered because we were obeying the law," said Francisco Aruca, chairman of the board of Marazul Charters, which books flights from Miami and New York.

The new law blocks the government from enforcing the Bush rules. Guidelines issued by the Treasury Department went a step further by making it clear that yearly trips are considered legal. The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions against Cuba and other governments.

The guidelines stop short of President Obama's campaign promise to remove all travel limits for Cuban Americans. He has, however, ordered a review of U.S. policy on Cuba. Many observers expect him to fulfill his campaign pledge in April, just before a summit with Latin American leaders in Trinidad and Tobago.

Gibson writes for the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... 4243.story

I have to go no matter what," Escobar said. "People should be able to visit family whenever they want."




And that's really the main problem with this country today, isn't it?

The broadsweeping mindset that EVERYONE who ever comes here from another country, should just be able to do WHAT they want, WHEN they want and there should be no limitations, no restrictions, no laws....no nothing.......which applies to THEM.

Well, I've got news for 'em..........the concept of liberty and freedom in this country DOES have it's limits and any time they become problematic for you, please go home from whence you came and then tell yourself just how bad you had it here because of a few little limitations.

It seems wrong that Cubans get to go home when ever they want and the illegal aliens don't get a similar special interest law.

We need a new law that says that illegal aliens can go home whenever they want.

Well, actually we need a special interest law that says that ALL illegal aliens MUST go home
and remain there until they have the proper paperwork to return here LEGALLY.

Originally Posted by azwreath

I have to go no matter what," Escobar said. "People should be able to visit family whenever they want."




And that's really the main problem with this country today, isn't it?

The broadsweeping mindset that EVERYONE who ever comes here from another country, should just be able to do WHAT they want, WHEN they want and there should be no limitations, no restrictions, no laws....no nothing.......which applies to THEM.

Well, I've got news for 'em..........the concept of liberty and freedom in this country DOES have it's limits and any time they become problematic for you, please go home from whence you came and then tell yourself just how bad you had it here because of a few little limitations.

You Got That RIGHT!