TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Police say a Florida man asking if a bulletproof vest “still worked” was fatally shot by his cousin.
A Tampa Police report says 23-year-old Joaquin Mendez put on the vest late Saturday and “wondered aloud whether it still worked.”
Police say his cousin, 24-year-old Alexandro Garibaldi, pulled out a gun and responded, “Let’s see.”
Officers found Mendez outside the house with a gunshot wound in his chest. Mendez died at a hospital.
According to the report, Garibaldi initially told officers he found his wounded cousin after hearing a gunshot. However, police say a witness described Garibaldi shooting Mendez.
Police say the vest was found inside the house with a gunshot.
Garibaldi was held Sunday without bond on a manslaughter charge. Hillsborough County jail records didn’t show whether he had an attorney.
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