This morning the city awoke to the tragic news that yet another man had been murdered in cold blood — bringing the total number of shooting victims since only yesterday evening to five and the fatalities to two, with one man clinging to life on a life support machine at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Most of the recent carnage occurred on one stretch of street — Central American Boulevard in its Port Loyola section.
At around six this morning, Glenston Martinez, 33, a tour guide and restaurant owner, was outside in front of his home on Central American Boulevard washing his van that he uses to transport cruise ship passengers in his line of work, as today is a cruise ship day. His mother Casmore Martinez, 64, looked on from her verandah as Glenston cleaned his vehicle. Then, up came a young man on a bicycle.
The teenager said something to Glenston, then got on his bicycle and rode off. But he only rode about one hundred yards to another young man who was on another bicycle waiting for him.
Martinez said that the young man returned and said something to her son, but she did not see if he had a gun.
But from about five feet away from Glenston, the youth fired two shots at him, which sent Glenston falling to the ground. The youth rode off calmly. He and his companion were seen heading in the direction of the Port Authority.
They left Glenston Martinez on the ground, dead from the two gunshots that hit him in the face, and his blood splattered on the side of the van that he was cleaning only moments before.
Swift police work resulted in the arrest of a fifteen-year-old minor. Also arrested was an adult, who is apparently known to police. It is believed that the adult was the one who gave the minor the gun with which he murdered Martinez in cold blood. Both are now in police custody and are expected to be charged.
It is not known, at this time, why the youth shot Martinez.