http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/12/news/CB-GEN-Puerto-Rico-Violence.php Puerto Rico's governor may activate National Guard to stem surge in violence The Associated PressPublished: January 12, 2007 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico's governor said Friday he may active the National Guard to stem a crime wave police believe is linked to a gang war and that has left 41 people dead in the first 12 days of the year. Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila said he would make his decision Tuesday after consulting with the U.S. territory's top police official, a police counsel and the Justice Secretary. The 41 killings are 23 higher than the 18 reported for the same period last year. Most of the slayings are drug related, with gangs battling to take over a major drug network allegedly run by a man who was arrested in mid-December, said Police Superintendent Pedro Toledo. The most recent killings came Friday when a man who witnessed a murder and another person driving with him were killed. More than 100 bullet casings were found on the highway in the San Juan suburb where they were shot. On Thursday afternoon, a man, believed to be having an affair with a married woman, was killed while he drove on a major San Juan freeway - causing hours of traffic jams in the capital. "What is happening is unacceptable for everyone, but I don't want the people to underestimate the job that they (the police) are doing," he said. "We have to evaluate what has been happening in the past 12 days." The violence has forced two schools located in public housing in Rio Piedras, a San Juan suburb, to remain shut after the Christmas holiday ended. The territory of 3.9 million people averaged just more than two homicides a day last year. The 739 slayings marked a slight decrease from 2005. In most cases, the murders were linked to the drug trade, according to police. Toledo has urged lawmakers to approve pending legislation that would make it more difficult for islanders to import weapons from the U.S. mainland. Gun makers have opposed the restrictions.