MEXICO GUNSHOT VICTIM AWAITS FLIGHT BACK TO PENTICTON

The family of the Penticton man shot in the thigh while vacationing in
Mexico are trying to find a way to get him back to the Okanagan.

"There are people offering to pay for flights back, but we really want
a direct flight back so they don't have to stop in Vancouver then take
another plane. We were hoping to get some kind of private jet or at
least have a direct flight here. That is our goal right now, to make
him the most comfortable," said the man's daughter Lisa Di
Lorenzo-Biggs.

The family has been speaking with Okanagan Coquihalla MP Stockwell Day
and looking at options with the BC Ambulance Service to see if their
special operations paramedics have the authority to travel that far.

Mike Di Lorenzo was with his wife Serafina Di Lorenzo walking to a
market on Monday near the hotel they were staying at while on vacation
in Mazatlan when he was hit with a stray bullet. Mexican police
officials said the gunmen were targeting a man on a motorcycle.
Another bystander was also injured and the man on the motorcycle was
killed. It is believed the hit on the man on the motorcycle has to do
with the ongoing drug war in that country.

The 69-year-old retired painter, who once ran Mike's Painting and
Decorating, pushed his wife to the ground as he heard the gunshots.
While falling on top of her, he was shot in the upper thigh. Mexican
news reports said an AK-47 was used in the shooting and more than 50
shell casings were found at the crime scene. Di Lorenzo is now resting
in a Mexican hospital, has two steel pins in his leg and underwent
blood transfusions on Wednesday.

"He is actually getting a bit of a reaction from the transfusion so
they are concerned, but it's not really uncommon I guess," said Di
Lorenzo-Biggs, adding they had hoped to get him home on Monday or
Tuesday but now with the complications they are unsure of that.

Day said he has spoken with Di Lorenzo since he has been in the
hospital and is ensuring Foreign Affairs and the consular is doing
everything they can. He added he is "pushing hard to make sure
everything that can be done, is done."

Foreign Affairs Canada warns Canadians travelling to Mexico to
exercise a high degree of caution. They said armed clashes between
security forces and drug groups are commonplace in certain areas and
travellers could get caught in the crossfire. Still, the Di Lorenzos
have not shown any sour feelings towards the country they frequently
visit as a vacation destination. Di Lorenzo-Biggs said her parents
have been visiting Mexico for years and are still considering buying
property there.

Scrolling through family photos on the computer, Di Lorenzo-Biggs said
she knows one thing for sure.

"It's so awful and you don't realize until something like this
happens, but you find that you are lacking photos of your family all
together. For sure one of the first things we are doing -- my sister
and I were talking about how we need to get a family portrait as soon
as they get back and healthy. This was a life-altering thing and you
just gain more appreciation for your family," she said.