Friday morning by a gunman who also shot and wounded eight Korean tourists and a four-year-old girl from Saipan.
The couple’s son, Richard B. Naputi, 22, his 30-year-old uncle Enrique Naputi, his two-year-old daughter Corinna Naputi and their five-year-old nephew Vince Rosario were shot near the Kanat Tabla Shooting Range by Zhongren Li, 42, while they were preparing for a birthday party at the site for Enrique Naputi’s other daughter, Dolores, the four-year-old girl who survived the attack.
The Naputis, who are originally from Tinian, said they came to Saipan to celebrate the young girl’s birthday but instead are now mourning the deaths of their family members.
“This is a tragedy,” said Ricardo Naputi in an interview at American Memorial Park where hundreds showed up for the candlelight vigil.
“This is very painful for us,” he added.
His son, the second youngest in a brood of four, lived with his uncle on Saipan, and just asked to help clean up the shooting range’s large backyard for the party.
“He got a lot of plans. He was just at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Ricardo Naputi said.
His son had not yet finished high school and played the keyboard for Maggie Naputi’s “Go for Broke Band.”
“He really likes fishing and music,” he said.
He said he hasn’t seen the body of his son and authorities have not offered any explanations why.
He plans to bring his son’s body to Tinian where they live.
The Naputis want to know why a Chinese contract worker had access to an arsenal of firearms and ammunitions.
Officials said Li was the caretaker of the shooting gallery.
The family of Enrique Naputi’s wife, Kollin Deleon Guerrero, owns the land where the shooting gallery is located.
Deleon Guerrero expressed deep sadness over the sudden death of her husband and daughter.
She thanked members of the community for their support and sympathies.
Li shot his victims with a .223 rifle before driving to Marpi where he then shot the Korean tourists.
The police found three more guns in the van that he used before killing himself.
Maryann Naputi, Richard’s aunt and cousin of Enrique, said they want to know how Li got access to the guns.
“We don’t even know who owns the company. We don’t know much. They should tell us,” she said. “What has happened to the gun control policy here?”
Ricardo Naputi said those are the questions they want to be answered.
He also wants to know the killer’s motive.
