Junior Barranquilla midfielder Javier Florez who admitted killing a heckling fan this month said he was drunk during
their confrontation and wanted to simply scare the man with a gun.
Florez surrendered to authorities in the
Colombian city of Barranquilla hours after the fatal shooting. He was
charged July 13 with aggravated homicide and pleaded guilty to
illegally carrying a firearm. He could face up to 50 years in prison,
with his trial to start in the coming months.
The fan had been taunting Florez after Athletic
Junior lost in the local Colombian league July 5. Florez said he
reacted after a stone was thrown at his car.
“I was drunk, full of hate, of fury,” Florez
told the Spanish sports newspaper Marca. “They challenged me to fight.
I went up to them, pulled the gun out and one of them jumped at me to
take it away. In this altercation, the horrible thing happened. I shot
several times. I don’t remember very well.”
Florez denied that he intended to kill the man.
“I parked the car and went to confront them,” he said. “I was carrying a gun and thought it would scare them.” (AP)
