The Venezuelan engineer murdered in Argentina was called Juan Francisco Fernández Acosta (27) he was shot in the head to steal a cell phone.
In the place where he had come to have peace, he ended up being the victim of an absurd crime.
Juan Francisco Fernández Acosta (27), a systems engineer who had emigrated from Venezuela, was shot in the head to steal his cell phone.
In the heart of Palermo, a neighborhood chosen by expatriates for its tranquility.
«I met the young man, he was a professional boy, a systems engineer. He rarely went out because he worked a lot. He had projects and dreams, he was very enterprising,” lamented a friend of Acosta’s in dialogue with TN.
The girl, who arrived in the country three months ago, recalled that Juan Francisco worked with his friend, who was there at the time of the crime: they were having a drink to end the day.
The victim also had a motorcycle that he used some nights to work delivery, an extra income that he used to help his family.
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“It’s something extreme. Two blocks away we have a police station and we live in a situation of insecurity. We there (in Venezuela) were always vigilant. Here we let our guard down because we thought it was calmer and it was not like that»,
complained another of Fernández’s friends, who said he had known the victim for just over a year.
“I was alone in the country, like many who come looking for an opportunity,” he said.
According to his story, Fernández’s family already found out about the boy’s death. Since they don’t have money to come to the country, they asked that the young man’s ashes be brought to them.
Another neighbor commented that his relatives depended financially —in part— on what the young man earned in the country.
pain, anger and fear
Fernández lived in one of the rooms of a house located at 1450 Aráoz street, between Gorriti and Honduras streets. There are several Venezuelan emigrants who live together or share the afternoons.
One of them, who preferred not to give his name, told TN how difficult it was to see his friend lying down.
«It was uncomfortable to see him like this, lying down. Every day that I pass by here I feel bad. We greeted each other every day. He was someone we hung out with, played games with, watched movies. You don’t believe it, shooting yourself in the head with a cell phone,”
counted.
«This place is touristy, nothing should happen. But do not trust yourself, you come here to survive here, “he added.
The event occurred during the early hours of this Monday, after 2 o’clock, when Fernández was with a friend, also of Venezuelan nationality, in front of his house, about four blocks from Plaza Serrano, the heart of the Palermo neighborhood.
Police sources confirmed that the violent scene took place while they were chatting, and they were approached by an armed criminal who threatened them.
“Give me your cell phone, or do you want to die?” the thief told them, after which he struggled with the victim, who received a bullet wound to the head.
City sources confirmed to Clarín that the 27-year-old suffered brain death and died this morning at the Fernández Hospital.
With information from El Clarín