Police say burglars shot and killed an American in Puerto Plata

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.- Unidentified assailants fired several shots Monday night which killed an Italian-American businessman in a residence he shared with another U.S. national, who was also seriously injured, including a military officer who tried to confront the gunmen.

The fatal victim was identified as Raffelle Foria, 64, who lived in the resort town of ??Sosua, the North Regional Police reported early Tuesday.

According to local witnesses, the four assailants were heavily armed and didn’t take any belongings from the residence.

Foria and air traffic controller Starley Leonard first came to the country in 1995 and called Sosúa their vacation home several times a year.

Puerto Plata Police spokesman Jesus Cordero said the men apparently burgled Fioris’s residence, where Leonar was also shot several times, and is in serious condition at a clinic in the nearby town of Cabarete.

Cordero added that Daniel Fernandez Alvarado, an Air Force officer and head of the condo’s security, tried to confront the gunmen, but was shot several times and rushed to a hospital in serious condition.