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A Cuban security guard shot and killed a man in a wheelchair outside a banquet hall in Sunrise, South Florida, early Sunday morning, local police reported.
The suspect was identified as Francisco Navarro Sánchez (also mentioned in some reports as Francisco Sánchez), 26 years old, born in Havana, Cuba, and a resident of Miami-Dade County.
The incident, which ended in tragedy, occurred around 1:30 a.m. this Sunday, when Navarro was working as a security guard at a birthday party with over 100 guests at the Five Stars Banquet Hall, located at 6072 West Oakland Park Boulevard, according to the Sunrise Police.
According to the arrest report, the victim, identified as Kendrick English, 48 years old, attempted to enter the hall at the urging of several party attendees, but was not on the guest list. During the ensuing argument, it is alleged that English insulted Sánchez, who pulled out a Glock 19 from its holster, fired several times, and fled the scene, according to the police report cited by local media.
English was shot six times: once in the neck, twice in the abdomen, twice in the left shoulder, and once in the forearm. Despite medical efforts, he did not survive the injuries.
Navarro was contacted by phone by detectives at the scene and voluntarily returned to turn himself in that same Sunday.
This Monday, he was formally charged with first-degree murder in Broward County. A judge denied him bail, and he remains detained in the main jail of Broward County, in Fort Lauderdale. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Francis I. Viamontes.
English lived with significant paralysis from the chest down and relied on an electric wheelchair for mobility. He became paralyzed in 1995, when he was about 17 years old, while playing a football game as a linebacker at Stranahan High School in Fort Lauderdale. Since then, his community has supported him; in 2004 he received a donated adapted van to improve his mobility.
During a vigil in his memory, held on Sunday night at the site where he was killed, family and friends described English as a father figure to many and openly questioned how a man in his physical condition could pose a threat to anyone.
"I don't know what the supposed threat was", stated Sheronda Williams-Perry. "How can you shoot someone, three to five times, when they were defenseless?"
"It is a terrible loss. He didn't deserve that. He was a very dear friend and would have given anything for others. He will be deeply missed," he stated.
Alexis Dorrell, another friend from English, expressed: "He was a noble soul, a soul at peace. The last person I thought something like this would happen to. I just couldn't believe it. Still... I can't believe it."
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