Police: U.S. tourist in Costa Rica kills mugger with bare hands
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) - An American senior citizen killed an alleged mugger with his bare hands, and his travelling companions aboard a tour bus fended off two other assailants in the Atlantic coast city of Limon, police said.
A retired member of the U.S. military aged about 70 put suspect Warner Segura in a head lock and broke his clavicle after the 20-year-old and two other men armed with a knife and a gun held up their tour bus, Limon police chief Luis Hernandez said. Segura was later declared dead, apparently from asphyxiation.
The two other men fled when the 12 senior citizens started defending themselves during Wednesday's attack. Afterward, the tourists drove Segura to the Red Cross where he was pronounced dead. The Red Cross also treated one of the tourists for an anxiety attack, Hernandez said.
The tourists later left on their Carnival cruise ship and Hernandez said authorities do not plan to press any charges against them.
Hernandez said Segura had previous charges against him for assaults.
In a statement, Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines said the incident occurred during an outing the passengers had arranged on their own.
Neither the Costa Rican police nor Carnival identified the man involved in the struggle with the mugger.
The cruise line said the guests were questioned by local police and then returned to the ship. The ship's departure from Limon was slightly delayed to await their return.
The ship, The Carnival Liberty, continued on its scheduled itinerary, with a port call scheduled in Colon, Panama.
