Slain CU junior resisted 2 robbers
Student shot while on spring break in Puerto Vallarta
By Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published March 28, 2008 at 6:50 p.m.
Updated March 28, 2008 at 11:54 p.m.
David Parrish was a Boulder High School grad.
A University of Colorado student on spring break in the resort city of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, was shot and killed this week when he tried to resist two robbers, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City said Friday.
Embassy and U.S. consular officers stationed in Puerto Vallarta were working with Mexican officials and the victim's family to retrieve the body of David Parrish, 21, said an embassy spokeswoman, who asked not to be identified.
Mexican authorities have informed the U.S. consulate that two men have been arrested, the spokeswoman said.
Parrish's mother was with him during this week's spring vacation.
The embassy spokeswoman did not know if a family member was with Parrish when he was robbed and shot about 4 p.m. Wednesday.
"There was apparently an attempted robbery by some people and Mr. Parrish appears to have resisted, and he was shot and subsequently died," she said.
"It's a terrible thing, and we're very sorry that it happened."
Embassy officials were trying to confirm whether the attack happened at Puerto Vallarta's marina where cruise ships dock or the port, which includes a shopping district.
"Obviously, it's a great tragedy for our campus community any time we lose any of our students for any reason," CU Boulder spokesman Bronson Hilliard said Friday. "It's particularly a blow to friends and family, and we're part of an extended family.
Our hearts go out to his parents and classmates."
Hilliard said campus records show that Parrish was a junior majoring in geography.
Parrish graduated from Boulder High School. His parents live in Boulder.
Puerto Vallarta, a resort city of 300,000, is on the Pacific coast in Jalisco state.
Despite Parrish's death, embassy officials said that violent crimes against American visitors are rare.
Embassy officials said they knew of about a dozen other violent crimes against U.S. nationals.
"None were fatal, and they were a variety of crimes," the embassy spokeswoman said.
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March 29, 2008
9:58 a.m.
Suggest removal
mandyjohayes writes:
Please remove the comment posted by theQ. This is a gross overstatement, and a racist generalization in and of itself. As a Colorado citizen and resident of Puerto Vallarta I have found the community to be extremely welcoming and tolerant. What happened to David is a terrible tragedy, and reminds us all that awful things happen, everywhere in the world. By no means is Puerto Vallarta a dangerous place filled with racist people, any more than Denver or Boulder. My heart goes out to the Parrish family, and I´m sure that the authorities of Jalisco and Vallarta are doing everything they can to help.
March 31, 2008
11:14 a.m.
Suggest removal
mellowdee21 writes:
The statement below is an out right lie!!!
"Despite Parrish's death, embassy officials said that violent crimes against American visitors are rare"
My son along with hundreds of tourist have been murdered in what is now called "KILLER MEXICO" Please visit the website below to find out the truth.
http://www.mexicovacationawareness.co...
March 31, 2008
11:13 p.m.
Suggest removal
tiedyedsoul writes:
Mellowdee......I went to your website to see how Mexico had killed all of these people and what I found was several stories about accidental deaths. I agree its unfortunate that resort staff arent trained in CPR and so forth but accidents can happen anywhere. To describe this place as a "killer" would seem to say that the people in Mexico are mass murdering tourists and this is just not true. You are not in USA when you are there so why would you assume that things would work the same as here.
April 1, 2008
9:15 a.m.
Suggest removal
mellowdee21 writes:
Tiedyedsoul....Thank you for going to the website. I appreciate your opinion. Have a blessed day!