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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — A traveler was shot to death Tuesday at the ticket counter of Caracas' international airport in the latest tragedy to befall the country's main connection to the world.
An airport security video circulating on social media shows another man with a handbag walk calmly past a group of bystanders and shoot at the victim before fleeing on foot. Authorities said they were investigating but gave no details other than to say the victim was from the Dominican Republic.
Local media reported the dead man was a lawyer and was waiting for a connecting domestic flight to the western Venezuela city of Maracaibo after arriving from the Dominican Republic. An employee of the local airline La Venezolana was also shot in the arm.
It was not the first time a passenger has been fatally shot at Maiquetia airport. Last year an Egyptian visitor was killed walking outside the airport between terminals after arriving on a flight from Germany. There have also been a number of assaults recently, a reflection of a crime wave that has given Venezuela one of the world's highest homicide rates.
Colombian airline Avianca last month became the latest foreign carrier to pull out of Venezuela over security concerns as the country struggles with crime and political turmoil.
The almost always empty Maiquetia airport was voted the eighth worst in the world in a recent survey of travelers by the Sleeping in Airports website based on criteria such as cleanliness, food options and security.
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