Police in Puerto Rico have arrested a suspect who they say fired the fatal gunshot that killed a tourist from Queens who traveled to the island with his girlfriend and friends for a Bad Bunny concert, authorities said.
Kalel Jorell Martínez Bristol, 38, was arrested and arraigned on Friday, according to a statement from Puerto Rico’s Justice Department. He faces first-degree murder charges for allegedly shooting 25-year-old Kevin Mares, an innocent bystander who happened to be standing nearby some people Martínez Bristol started arguing with at a nightclub in La Perla.
Following the filing of charges against the suspect, Lourdes L. Gómez Torres, Puerto Rico’s attorney general, declared, “This death will not go unchallenged. We at the Justice Department will persevere to ensure that the accused faces the full force of the law.”
The tragic incident occurred on Aug. 10 around 4 a.m.
“They were standing in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Mares family friend Claudia Saenz told the Daily News.
Aug. 11, 2025: ‘Please be safe’
New York Daily News The Daily News’ front page for Aug. 11, 2025: Kevin Mares of Queens was out with girlfriend Angy Arguello (together, r.) after a Bad Bunny concert in San Juan on Saturday night, when she decided to return to their hotel and he made the fateful choice to stay out with friends. Mares was killed by a stray bullet later in a bar.
Earlier in the evening, Mares attended a Bad Bunny concert and after-party with his girlfriend of seven years, Angy Arguello, 24. Arguello later went back to their hotel room while Mares kept partying. In an interview, Mares’ mother, Sandra Mares, told The News that her son had confided in her that he planned to propose to Arguello in the fall.
Arguello said she had no idea; she began crying after hearing of his plans.
“I was waiting for him,” she said through tears. “Of course I would have [said yes].”
Mares worked as a veterinary technician on Long Island while studying to become a veterinarian and was a huge Bad Bunny fan, having already seen the Latin trap and reggaeton star multiple times.
Arguello told Mares, “Please, be safe,” when they parted after he asked her permission to stay out with friends after Arguello had gotten tired early, she said.
Mares’ family started a GoFundMe to help cover the costs to fly his body home to East Elmhurst.
Two additional people, a brother and a sister who live in La Perla, were wounded in the shooting but survived.
For decades, La Perla was known as a particularly dangerous neighborhood, and even police reportedly avoided it. However, a federal raid in 2011 led to dozens of arrests and the conviction of a local community leader.
The neighborhood became a popular tourist destination after being featured in a music video for the song “Despacito,” by Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi and frequent Bad Bunny collaborator Daddy Yankee.
Martínez Bristol, who has a criminal record, is being held by authorities on an $800,000 bond. He is due back in court in San Juan on Aug. 28.
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