Mexico
Two 14-year-olds charged with killing eight people
Along with seven other assailants, the youths burst into a birthday party and opened fire on attendees last January.
Updated
The two teenagers were arrested along with seven other suspects.
Mexico Public Security Department
Two 14-year-olds accused of shooting eight people dead and wounding seven others at a party in suburban Mexico City have been arrested, authorities said Thursday.
The two teenagers and seven other suspects in this case were arrested during an operation carried out between Friday and last Saturday in Chimalhuacán and Nezahualcóyotl, according to a statement from the federal government. One of the two teenagers is nicknamed “El Chapito”, in reference to the famous drug baron “El Chapo”.
“The first elements of the investigation showed that on January 22, a family was celebrating a birthday in the Fundidores neighborhood in Chimalhuacán when a group of armed men arrived on motorcycles,” the statement said. Among them were the two minors who “fired at the participants and fled.”
injured children
Three adults were killed on the spot and five others died while receiving treatment in hospitals where they had been transported. Seven other people were injured, including minors aged 3 and 14.
Intentional homicides in Mexico fell by 7.1% in 2022 compared to 2021, to 30,968 cases, the government said in January. Thousands of people have disappeared and some 350,000 homicides have taken place in Mexico since the deployment in 2006 of a major counter-narcotics offensive supported by the United States.
(AFP/MP)