Parents of young man of Cuban origin murdered in CityPlace Doral shooting speak

The parents of George Alejandro Castellanos, a 23-year-old young man murdered last weekend during a shooting at CityPlace in Doral, Miami-Dade, are devastated after the loss of their son, who was the father of a little girl who was only 14 months old.

A conflict between customers over a chair and a cushion at Martini Bar led a man to fatally shoot Castellanos, a security guard who had been working at that location for two years and who intervened in the dispute to separate the contenders.

He was one month away from graduating with a degree in Biological Sciences at Florida International University (FIU) with a specialization in Criminal Justice and dreamed of being a Doral police officer, as confirmed by his family.

“I sent my son a message and said 'pipo, where are you? I want to see you,' and he didn't answer me," she said through tears in statements to America Camel the Cuban Jorge Castellanos, father of the deceased young man.

“That was when my world collapsed and I have it collapsed. There is no way for me to get up, that's how I found out that my son had been killed, because they killed him, it wasn't an accident, they killed him, unjustly, for pleasure."added the grieving father.

“The only thing he did was separate the fight, get in the middle of the gun so that nothing else would happen and they killed him. He had no weapon, he only had a flash light to say 'there is an accident' and died to protect others, a wonderful son, a wonderful father,” he added.

“I have no words, really, he left a brother who also tells me 'mom, why? 'He was so good, he didn't hurt anyone.' He was graduating next month from FIU,” said the mother of the deceased young man, Jeanina Castellanos, who is of Nicaraguan origin, also excited.

The murderer of George Alejandro Castellanos, 37 years old and identified as Jamal Wayne Wood, was confronted during the incident by two Doral police officers, whose identities have not been revealed.

In the exchange of fire, one of the agents was wounded in the leg and six other people were also shot.

The injured have been identified as Lester Williams González (28 years old); Sonia Muñoz Torres (48); Gerard Patrick Delaney (57); Frank Miguel Jerez, (34); Yaniris Jerez (30) and Carlos Milan (38).

“It is still too early to determine which bullets hit these people, whether it was from the subject or the officers, we will be able to know that in the following weeks, while all that evidence is presented through the Miami-Dade laboratory,” said Álvaro Zabaleta, spokesperson for the Miami-Dade police, in statements to the aforementioned media.

George Castellanos' parents opened a petition on a fundraising page GoFundMe to raise funds to help them with funeral expenses and also to support the young daughter of the deceased young man, who has now lost her father.

“The void created by George's passing is immeasurable and we were unprepared for the financial difficulties associated with organizing a proper memorial service to honor his memory. We humbly ask for your support to give George Alejandro the tribute he deserves. “Your contributions will not only allow us to come together to celebrate his life and say goodbye forever, but will also provide crucial financial support to his daughter and mother during these difficult times,” reads the petition, which in just a few days has raised more than $80,000. Dollars.

Even the presenter Enrique Santos, moved by the tragic event, has echoed the petition in favor of the family of the murdered young man.

Until the closing of this note, no other details have emerged about the incident that ended the young man's life. At the moment the authorities have not published the photograph of the murderer, although he has been identified by name.

In the midst of his pain over the premature and unexpected loss of his son, the father of the murdered young man calls for limits on gun ownership in the United States.

“They say, put a metal detector, but that is like a patch on a hole we have. It's not a metal detector, it's gun control. Gentleman and this is not race, this is not color, this is what has and that taking up the issue is gun control. Gentleman, this is not about race or color, it is that measures must be taken,” he said.

In an emotional conversation with journalist Juan Manuel Cao, the parents of the deceased young man asked for greater security for the guards of the bars, as well as a metal detector at the entrance of the establishments.