ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The shooting of Boston Red Sox legend David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic and several deaths of tourists visiting that island have many wondering, is it safe to travel there?

The State Department keeps track of how many American citizens die outside the U.S.

It's undetermined if the reported deaths on the database are related to deaths "while on vacation."

But there have been more fatalities in the Dominican Republic in years past.

There have been six mysterious deaths of American tourists reported so far in 2019.

Last year, 13 Americans died while visiting the Caribbean nation. Three of those were homicides.

In 2017, there were 17 deaths, and in 2016 there were 18 deaths.

The highest number of American deaths while visiting the Dominican Republic, tracked by the State Department, was 32 in 2009. Eleven of them were homicides.

Deaths are categorized as drownings, car accidents or terrorism related, among others.

There were six deaths linked to terrorist attacks last year out of a total of 724.