No offense but I don' think you should associate the reaction of the mostly corrupt Dominican police force with what the citizens here feel. Mostly people are upset over the violence here and in fact has been in the news a lot lately.
Like most people, Dominicans like to know why a murder happened and of course are more upset about the random type killings. When a murder happens to a businessmen in a dangerous business or a "shady" person they are likely to say they were playing with fire.
I also think that when a foreigner gets killed it's easy for a Dominican to disassociate themselves with the death. They probably think the person either flashed too much $$, got in with the wrong people, etc., so in their mind it couldn't happen to them. When a Dominican dies in DR, I think the "there but for the grace of God go I" mentality kicks in.
In this case in Philly, I think it's big news because
#1. Almost an entire family was wiped out - and two daughters watched [I made a mistake in the OP, I thought it was one]
#2. They owned a small business like lots of others in the US [i.e. "that could have been me"]
#3. The irony of it being the father's birthday
#4. The crime and flash mobs in Philly have been big news everywhere in US lately
Unfortunately, by next week it will probably be forgotten by all except those personally touched by the tragedy.
AE
