German Tourist Newest Slaying Victim in Florida, Fifth in Last Two Months
Robbers shot and killed a German vacationer outside Miami, police said Friday, in the latest in a series of crimes against foreign tourists that has local officials worried.
Two men shot German tourist Jorge Schell when he intervened as the assailants tried to snatch his wife Sonya’s purse outside their motel room in Homestead, Metro-Dade County police said. He died later at a nearby hospital.
It was the fifth killing of a foreign visitor in the last few months.
Florida Gov. Lawton Chiles recently formed a task force to fight both the problem of attacks on tourists and the growing perception abroad that Florida is a lethal place for visitors.
According to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 7,000 visitors--less than one-tenth of 1% of the 40 million annual tourists--reported being victims of violent crime.
But bad publicity is a concern in a state which gets $26 billion a year from tourism, Florida’s biggest industry.
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