In the wake of tragedy Dominican watchdog wants gun ban

Santo Domingo.- One of Dominican Republic´s most active watchdog groups on Wednesday said the best way to honor slain Santo Domingo Este mayor Juan de los Santos is to launch a long-range plan to take weapons away from civilians "without exception."

Toward that end the Dominican Anticorruption Alliance (Adocco) asked president Danilo Medina, to honor de los Santos´ memory, noting that legal weapons account for a "significant proportion" of gun deaths.

Adocco coordinator Julio Cesar de la Rosa called owning and carrying guns "a threat to the peace of the Dominican family."

In a statement, the organization cautioned that yesterday’s tragedy should prompt public and private institutions to adopt appropriate measures to impose a ban of the entry of armed persons, “regardless of whether they are chauffeurs or security guards unless they are military trained to deal with contingencies and thus avoid many deaths in the future.”