The weekend left a balance of seven murders occurred between Friday afternoon and the early hours of this Monday, as confirmed by the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ), with which the number of homicides nationwide reached 206 cases.
Some events that occurred in Alajuelita, Puntarenas and Saint Joseph They were recorded on surveillance cameras, in broad daylight and in front of witnesses.
“They no longer worry so much about waiting for night, lonely places or darkness. They simply have an order to execute and They are going to execute at whatever time of day it is.”explained Vladimir Muñoz, acting deputy director of the OIJ.
One of the crimes that was reported on social networks occurred on Saturday in the La Chorotega urbanization in Alajuelita, where a 15-year-old minor was intercepted on public roads by two subjects on a motorcycle. The driver’s passenger shot repeatedly at the teenager, who tried to evade the attack.
The impacts hit his chest and head and he died at the San Juan de Dios hospital. Muñoz pointed out that in the video of the attack you can see people running very close to the place where the shots originated. “Fortunately, we had no collateral victims to mourn,” he said.
seven cases
The first homicide occurred on Friday afternoon at Cinco Esquinas de Tibáswhere a 29-year-old man was approached on a public street by gunmen who arrived in a vehicle and shot him, the man died at the scene.
That same afternoon, in the community of Fray Casiano in Puntarenas, a 23-year-old young man was attacked by four hitmen who arrived on two motorcycles. The victim was taken to the Monseñor Sanabria hospital, where he was declared dead.
On Saturday a body in the community of 12 Millas, in Matina lemon. The deceased was a man of approximately 40 years old who had a gunshot wound to the chest.
That same Saturday night, in Carrillo, Guanacaste, a subject jumped the perimeter security of an apartment and attacked two people who were inside with a firearm. One of them died. The other remains hospitalized.
The Judicial Police indicated that at the moment they do not have information that links this last event to criminal groups.
On Sunday, in the district Merced from the center of San José, A 34-year-old man was approached on a public street: they shot him and also caused stab wounds; the attackers were traveling on a motorcycle. This case was also recorded on video.
Collateral victim?
The seventh murder recorded this weekend has as its precedent an event that occurred days before. A 33-year-old man died on Sunday at the Tony Facio Hospital, but was injured on Tuesday, April 7, after a shooting in San Juan de Limón which left five people injured.
Muñoz warned that in this case “it has not been possible to establish which of the people was the target: one, two or all of them. We are left with the doubt of whether there is any collateral victim.”
The acting deputy director of the OIJ highlighted that a pattern that they have been observing for years was repeated: hitmen who operate without hesitation, in broad daylight, in public places and regardless of the presence of witnesses.
“There is great and strong cruelty against some of the victims,” said Muñoz, who added that the attackers They use stolen motorcycles, without license plates, dark clothing and helmets that make their identification difficult. “With that they are simply going to execute at whatever time of day and wherever they are,” he concluded.
The 206 homicides registered to date represent a decrease of 60 cases compared to the same period in 2025. San José (67), Limón (43) and Puntarenas (34) are the provinces with the most violent deaths of this type.
