Woman demands justice after masked gunmen ambushed vehicle in Puerto Rico, killing her fiancé

Puerto Rico

Woman demands justice after masked gunmen ambushed vehicle in Puerto Rico, killing her fiancé

Kelly Crispin says more than a dozen masked gunmen surrounded their car in San Juan

Sophia Compton Fox News

Published

January 30, 2026 4:54pm EST

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A Philadelphia woman is demanding answers after her fiancé was gunned down in what she says was a random ambush shooting while the couple was visiting Puerto Rico.

Kelly Crispin said she and her fiancé, Omar Padilla Vélez, were driving back to his family’s home at around 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 3 after a night of dancing in San Juan when they made a wrong turn off the Calle Cerra nightlife strip, she told FOX 29 and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Within moments, their car was surrounded. More than a dozen masked men armed with AR-style rifles boxed in the vehicle at the intersection of Calle Blanca and Calle La Nueva Palma, Crispin told the outlets.

As Padilla Vélez tried to drive around them, the gunmen opened fire, she said.

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Philadelphia couple ambush shooting Puerto rico

A South Philadelphia woman is demanding answers after her fiancé was gunned down in what she says was a random ambush shooting while the couple was visiting Puerto Rico. (Kelly Crispin via Instagram)

Padilla Vélez, a DuPont chemist, was shot in the head. Crispin was hit in the hand and shoulder and grazed in the back of her head. A friend riding in the car was not injured, FOX 29 and The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

After the gunfire stopped, Crispin said one of the attackers approached the vehicle and took her phone as she was calling police. She said the men appeared startled when they realized a woman was inside the car. They searched her purse, returned her phone, and took nothing, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Crispin and her friend brought Padilla Vélez into the back seat as she tried to stop the bleeding. The friend drove as the gunmen directed them out of the neighborhood, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

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Padilla Vélez suffered a catastrophic stroke caused by a bullet fragment and died. (Kelly Crispin via Instagram)

They met an ambulance at a nearby gas station and rushed to Centro Médico de Puerto Rico. Days later, Padilla Vélez suffered a catastrophic stroke caused by a bullet fragment and died, according to the outlets.

Now, Crispin is calling for justice.

"There’s no media coverage, there’s no pressure on the police to solve this case," Crispin told FOX 29. "… No one knows that this very smart, young Puerto Rican man was murdered, no one knows that a tourist down there was shot multiple times."

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Crispin told Fox News Digital that her fiancé grew up in Puerto Rico, knew the streets well, and that the area where the shooting happened is not considered dangerous. (Kelly Crispin via Instagram)

Crispin told Fox News Digital that her fiancé grew up in Puerto Rico, knew the streets well, and that the area where the shooting happened is not considered dangerous.

No arrests have been made. Police say the investigation remains ongoing, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and FOX 29.

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"We had just made this decision to spend the rest of our lives together, forever," she told The Philadelphia Inquirer. "It just feels so cruel that this was taken away."

San Juan police did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Sophia Compton is a Writer at Fox News Digital. Sophia was previously a business reporter covering finance, energy and tourism and has experience as a TV news producer. She graduated with a journalism degree in 2021 from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Woman demands justice after masked gunmen ambushed vehicle in Puerto Rico, killing her fiancé