U.S. Tourist In Costa Rica Kills Mugger

An American senior citizen killed an alleged mugger with his bare hands, and his traveling companions aboard a tour bus fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.

The American, who is about 70 years old and retired from the military, put the 20-year-old in a head lock and broke his clavicle after the suspect and two other men armed with a knife and gun held up their tour bus, said Luis Hernandez, the police chief of Limon, 80 miles east of San Jose. The suspect, Warner Segura, was later declared dead, apparently from asphyxiation.

The two other men fled when the 12 senior citizens started defending themselves during the Wednesday attack. Afterward, the tourists drove Segura to the Red Cross where he was declared dead. The Red Cross also treated one of the tourists for an anxiety attack, Hernandez said Thursday.

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Hernandez said Segura had previous charges against him for assaults.

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“The victims struggled with the armed perpetrator, and were able to disarm him. During this process, the gunman’s two accomplices fled the scene. In the course of disarming and restraining the assailant, he died from apparent asphyxiation.”

Neither the Costa Rican police nor Carnival identified the man involved in the struggle with the mugger.

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