Minor found shot dead in Arroyo
Youth rights group expresses deep sorrow over the death, urges reflection on how to prevent violence affecting children and youth
By THE STAR STAFF
Authorities on Thursday were investigating a death of undetermined cause involving a minor that was reported around 6:23 p.m. on Wednesday at the old sugar mill in the municipality of Arroyo.
According to the police report, a call to the precinct alerted authorities to the situation. Upon arriving at the scene, uniformed officers found the body of 16-year-old Yadiel Torrales Lazú, who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
Agents from the Guayama Criminal Investigation Corps are investigating.
Later on Thursday, Marcos Santana Andújar, president of the Network for the Rights of Children and Youth of Puerto Rico, shared the following statement in response to the reported death of Torrales Lazú:
“The Network for the Rights of Children and Youth of Puerto Rico expresses its deep sorrow over the violent death of a 16-year-old adolescent in the municipality of Arroyo.
“According to released information, the young person was under State protection and had recently left -- along with other adolescents -- a shelter in the San Juan region, thereby finding himself outside the protective environment and support system he needed.
“We have lost the life of a child. Faced with a tragedy of this magnitude, this is not the time to make hasty judgments or point fingers of blame. It is a time to stand in solidarity with the grief of his family, the young people who knew him, the staff who provided him with services, and everyone affected by this loss.
“We urge the authorities to investigate the facts with the utmost urgency, solve this crime without delay, and bring those responsible to justice. His life matters, and his death cannot go unpunished.
“However, the country’s response cannot be limited to a criminal investigation, nor should it begin only when a child enters a shelter. This tragedy must lead us to deep, self-critical reflection: what can we do to provide timely support to children and their families before they have to come into contact with the child protection system?
“We must continue strengthening integrated service ecosystems in our communities that allow for the early identification and addressing of at-risk situations. This requires guaranteeing timely access to physical and mental health services, safe housing, education, food security, social support, and opportunities for economic mobility.
“Child protection does not begin when a child is removed, an investigation is launched, or the doors of a shelter open. It begins much earlier: when we support a family, address their needs, and prevent a situation of vulnerability from escalating into a crisis. Prevention is also protection.
“We must also examine the support children and adolescents receive while under state protection; how we address their experiences of trauma; and what responses are triggered when they leave a care setting and need to be located and protected.
“When a child leaves a protective environment, they do not cease to be our collective responsibility. Their behavior cannot be analyzed in isolation from the experiences of violence, abandonment, poverty, trauma, or exclusion they may have endured. Behind every situation lies a story -- and often, a call that we, as adults and institutions, have a responsibility to hear and heed.
“This tragedy must mark a point of no return. We cannot become accustomed to counting the lives of our children only after they are lost, nor allow the pain to fade once the news cycle moves on.
“Today, we mourn. As a nation, it is our duty to transform that pain into concrete action so that no child is left without protection when they need it most.”
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