Who Was Kevin Mares? American Tourist Shot Dead While Visiting Puerto Rico to Watch Bad Bunny Concert

A U.S. tourist in Puerto Rico for a Bad Bunny concert was shot dead in a notoriously dangerous San Juan area on Sunday, authorities said. Kevin Mares, 25, was shot twice before he died early Sunday in La Perla, a seaside slum near Old San Juan, while he was on the island to attend Bad Bunny’s concert series.

Mares, a committed veterinary student from New York, was planning to propose to his longtime girlfriend this fall, his heartbroken mother told the New York Daily News. Mares is believed to have been an innocent bystander when a fight broke out between two people nearby and one of them suddenly opened fire.

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

One of the men allegedly pulled a gun and began shooting, hitting at least three people. Mares was struck on the left side of his abdomen and taken to the island’s main public hospital, where he died.

Mares had traveled to Puerto Rico with three friends to watch the famed local rapper perform as part of a 30-show residency that has attracted thousands of American visitors to the Caribbean island and U.S. territory.

The 25-year-old from East Elmhurst, Queens, was juggling two part-time jobs while pursuing his veterinary studies, according to his family, CBS News reported.

“We want justice,” his mother Sandra Mares told the outlet.

Mares had been eagerly looking forward to the trip to Puerto Rico with his girlfriend for months and was an avid Bad Bunny fan, his grieving parents shared.

Loved ones described Mares as “a deeply loved son, devoted friend, and a source of inspiration to everyone who knew him” in a GoFundMe set up to help raise money to bring his body back home.

“His wholehearted kindness, adventurous spirit, and unwavering commitment to family made him a pillar of strength for his loved ones,” the fundraising page read.

“Family was at the center of everything he did, and his sudden passing has left an unfillable void in our lives,” loved ones wrote on the page.

Tributes Pour In

CBS reported that Mares is also survived by his 15-year-old brother. Local police told NBC 6 that the gunman is still on the loose. “We have very little information,” said San Juan detective Sgt. Arnaldo Ruiz.

La Perla has carried a long-standing reputation for crime and violence spanning decades.

Once a hub for drug trafficking, the area was considered so dangerous for visitors that police largely avoided it and even put up warning signs advising people to stay away.

Although a large federal raid in 2011 reduced some of the problems, the neighborhood remains unsafe.

In 2023, two visitors were stabbed after somebody got angry that they were recording video there, and in 2024, a tourist from Delaware was killed and set on fire following a drug deal.

Mares’ family is coordinating with local officials in Puerto Rico to return his body to Queens for funeral preparations, according to CBS.

They have also called on anyone with knowledge about the shooting to speak up.