This is one of the more horrific stories I’ve seen in a while. Not because of the level of carnage — there’s much, much worse. But because of the mix of fear, bad luck, rapid resorts to violence and what I can’t help but think is a generous dollop of gonzo press hype about crime and how you need to rapidly resort to your gun. Unlike some other recent stories, you can’t reduce this to the gun issue or the race issue. But they’re both there.
From NBCLatino …
Rodrigo Diaz, 22, was driving around with his girlfriend and two friends when he pulled into a driveway, thinking they had arrived at another friend’s house, his brother says. But instead he pulled into the driveway of Phillip Sailors, 69, who thought his home was being robbed, his lawyer says. Sailors then shot Diaz, according to the police report, citing what Sailors told officers at the scene. Diaz later died after surgery.
“Basically, what happened is they were looking for one of my brother’s girlfriend’s friends,” says his brother David E. Diaz-Valencia, 23. “The guy came outside and my brother’s girlfriend said he was screaming, ‘Get off my property!’ and he shot into the air. My brother was backing out fast because he was scared and he rolled down the window to say he was sorry and he was not doing anything wrong. Then the guy shot him in his head.”
The car’s GPS apparently led Diaz and his friends to the wrong home. Sailors’ lawyer says Sailors feared he and his wife were about to be the victim of a home invasion. He’s now in the county jail charged with murder.
