Man fatally shot by his cousin while attempting to see whether bullet-resistant vest still worked

A Florida man faces a manslaughter charge after shooting his cousin in an attempt to see whether a bullet-resistant vest still worked, according to police. At 10pm on Saturday, Joaquin Mendez, 23, tried on the bullet-resistant vest, Tampa police said.



He wondered aloud whether it was functional. "Let's see," replied his cousin Alexandro Garibaldi, who pulled out a gun and shot at the vest, according to police. Police officers responded to the address in Tampa minutes after the shooting.





They said they found Mendez outside, wounded in the chest. Inside, they found blood and the vest, which had a bullet hole. Garibaldi, 24, told officers he heard a gunshot, then discovered his wounded cousin outside. But police said they heard a different story from a witness.


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The witness reported that Mendez sat in a chair and put the vest on, wondering whether it worked, and that Garibaldi took out a gun, said, "Let's see," and shot. Mendez was taken to a hospital, where he died. In addition to the manslaughter with a weapon charge, Garibaldi faces a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.