Chilean students improving from shooting wounds

Only one of the Chilean students injured in the heinous Feb. 26 shooting that killed two others remains in the hospital.

Francisco Cofre, 25, is listed in fair condition at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola and continues to improve, according to information released by the hospital. Cofre was the most seriously injured of the three wounded survivors and will need reconstructive surgery to repair facial bones. He was struck in the head and neck by a shot fired from a rifle.

His father, Mario Cofre, spoke to a hospital spokesman last week and explained that Francisco is sedated, but he knows what is being said to him and he nods his head to show he understands.

Sebastian Arizaga, 27, was released from the hospital Tuesday after being treated for a gunshot wound to his hand and shoulder. David Alonzo Billbao, 21, has also been discharged, his left arm still wrapped from an operation where four pins were inserted to hold his bone together.

Two of their friends, Nicolas Pablo Corp, 23, and Racine Balbontin, 22, did not survive the shooting and died at the scene, according to the Walton County Sheriff's Office.

All of the students were in Florida as part of a work and travel program.

When Dannie Baker, 60, walked across the parking lot of the Summer Lake townhome complex and opened fire into a neighbor's window, Northwest Florida became known to a wider range of ethnicities and people.

"I started receiving phone calls from family members of people who lived here from around the world who were worried and wanted to check on their family," said Grace Resendez McCaffery who publishes a Spanish newspaper in Northwest Florida.

McCaffery said she started La Costa Latina to help the Hispanic community communicate better when it came to living in Northwest Florida.

"The feeling people worldwide were getting (after the shooting) was that Northwest Florida was a violent place and Latinos were being targeted," McCaffery said.

That's one of the reasons she is helping organize a memorial for the students and families involved in the shooting.

"It just seems like the right thing to do so we could offer a moment of some healing and some hope for some peace," McCaffery said. "The hope is there will be a sufficient amount of people to relay a message to family members and people around the world that this community does care about these kids and all the kids that come here on these exchange programs."

The memorial service will offer a bilingual message and be open to all denominations. People are expected to gather from 1 to 3 p.m. at Liza Jackson Park on Sunday. McCaffery said there will be a place for people to lay flowers and light candles and unsealed sympathy cards will be collected to send to Chile.

In addition to the service, an account to benefit the students and their families has been set up at Eglin Federal Credit Union. Donations can be made at any branch. Mention the money should go to the Chilean students.

Dannie Baker is in the Walton County Jail awaiting an April 21 plea date where his lawyer expects to enter a written plea of not guilty. He's being held on two murder charges, assault with a deadly weapon and firing missiles into a dwelling.