Río Piedras massacre

Infobox terrorist attack
title = 1935 Río Piedras Massacre


caption =
location = Río Piedras, Puerto Rico
target = Supporters of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party
date = October 24, 1935
time =
timezone =
type = School shooting, mass murder,
fatalities = 5 (including 1 police officer)
injuries =
perps =
weapons =

The Río Piedras massacre occurred at the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and involved a confrontation between local police officers and supporters of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party on October 24, 1935. Four partisans of the Nationalist party and one police officer were killed during the shooting.

Casualties

The supporters of the Nationalist Party killed during the shooting were:
* Ramón S. Pagán - Nationalist Party secretary
* Eduardo Rodríguez Vega
* José Santiago Barea
* Pedro Quiñones

Dionisio Pearson was also gravely wounded in the event.

One police officer died during the shooting as well.

Aftermath

A witness of the massacre, Isolina Rondón, testified how she saw the police officers shooting at the victims and how she heard one police officer screaming not to let them "escape alive". However, her testimony was ignored and there were no charges raised against the officers. They were instead given a promotion.

In 1936, Nationalists Hiram Rosado and Elías Beauchamp assassinated Colonel Elisha Francis Riggs, who was the superior police officer in the island and was considered responsible for the massacre. Rosado and Beauchamp were arrested, and summarily executed without a trial at the police headquarters in San Juan.

ee also

* Pedro Albizu Campos
* Puerto Rican Nationalist Party

External links

* [http://www.nacionypatria.com/#masacreriopiedras Article on the Nationalist Party website]
* [http://claridadpuertorico.com/articulo.php?id=4971 Article in the Claridad newspaper]