Carnival Passenger shot in Puerto Limon on December 27, 2006

[Florida Lady]

Dave Counter, a passenger on a Carnival ship, was shot in the torso on Dec. 27 while in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica.

 

Counter, 49, was on a cruise with his wife Trudy and their sons Peter, 19, and Nicholas, 17, over the holidays when the ship made a stop at Limon, Costa Rica. He and his eldest son went for a walk when he was jumped. In a botched robbery, Counter was shot once, a bullet entering and exiting his side.

 

Luckily, the injuries were minor – the bullet was found in his shirt – and a doctor on the ship was able to treat him.

[lyttleone1977]

Where did you find this? I cant find out anything about it on the web.

[Florida Lady]

The article was in a Canadian Newspaper (The Guelph Mercury) on January 13, 2007. I was in Costa Rica the day of the shooting so I was searching for additional information about the man who was shot.

 

Here is the link I used to find the article:

 

http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:bdOYv1_NrfUJ:www.guelphmercury.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer%3Fpagename%3Dmercury/Layout/Article_Type1%26c%3DArticle%26cid%3D1168689615364%26call_pageid%3D1050067726078%26col%3D1050938501375+shot+man+cruise+%22costa+rica%22+dave&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=8&ie=UTF-8

 

email for reporter: tdharmarajah@guelphmercury.com

[LA_FadeAway]

That's too bad. Limon is definitely not the safest part of Costa Rica. I would take a tour and get out of there rather than hanging around town.

[rucruizin]

When we went several years ago, I had a great time. I felt totally safe, and never thought of any danger. We played soccer with a bunch of little boys on one of the main streets. We hung out in a bar with some locals, walked all over town??? I guess time changes things.

 

You'd think if it was that dangerous, Carnival waould divert???

[teacherkim]

We spent a whole week in Costa Rica and felt perfectly safe, but if you decide to leave your home; you are taking a risk. Like I just said on another thread, people are mugged and shot EVERYDAY in most American cities! Just use some common sense.

[PRNole47]

From the original Canadian news article:

 

 

 

"While his wife Trudy and 17-year-old son Nicholas took a tour of the Costa Rican rainforest, Counter and his 19-year-old son Peter went for a walk through a local park.

 

People on board had been advised not to venture more than two or three blocks from the cruise ship, but many tourists ignored the precautions and headed well into the town, Counter said yesterday."

 

 

There's a reason why some ship sponsored tours in Caribbean and Central America stops include the use of local security services. Unfortunately, going out on your own does not usually afford one of this opportunity.

 

 

 

While this type of incident happens in many American cities all the time, as some are prone to point out, I venture to guess the average ship-bound tourist in these ports cannot recognize the subtle signs of a risky area or neighborhood, as they may be able to do in the states. Thus, their exposure to this type of crime is dramatically increased when venturing out on your own.

[teacherkim]

Then they need to heed the warnings given to them, the article you quoted said people were told not to wander around that town by themselves and many ignored it. Drives me nuts when people ignore directions and then complain when something bad happens!!

[Budwheat]

Then they need to heed the warnings given to them, the article you quoted said people were told not to wander around that town by themselves and many ignored it. Drives me nuts when people ignore directions and then complain when something bad happens!!

 

We were there on Feb 12th (13th?), and "wandered" about 3 blocks into the town, found a nice restaurant with outdoor seating and had some black bean and some chicken & rice. We then went into the old "market" which is a very run-down local affair, but the folks were friendly. I did not feel comfortable going farther than that. That was after a ship-sponsored tour. :)

[UNCBlue4Us]

Costa Rica is the safest country in Central America. Their crime stats are much lower than the USA. Check the studies that are avaliable on the net.