Witnesses say gunman killed man who protested anti-gay slurs
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Investigators say a Florida gunman fatally shot a man who had defended his friends against the gunman's homophobic slurs.
Nelson Hernandez Mena was ordered held without bail at the Palm Beach County jail on a first-degree murder charge during a court appearance Monday.
The Palm Beach Post reports that the 48-year-old Mena followed 22-year-old Juan Javier Cruz and his friends outside a Lake Worth restaurant early Sunday. Witnesses said he told Cruz, "If we were in my country, I'd kill all of you like rats."
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Witnesses told Palm Beach County sheriff's detectives that when Cruz defended his friends, Mena pulled a handgun and fired several shots, killing Cruz and wounding a bystander.
Mena, who is originally from Honduras, told detectives he had drunk 15 to 20 beers before the shooting.
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Information from: The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post, http://www.pbpost.com