Two teenagers accused of killing eight people in Mexico
Steph Deschamps / March 18, 2023
Two 14-year-olds accused of shooting dead eight people and wounding seven others at a party in a Mexico City suburb have been arrested, authorities said Thursday.
The two teenagers and seven other suspects in the case were arrested in an operation carried out between last Friday and Saturday in Chimalhuacán and Nezahualcóyotl, according to a federal government statement.
The first elements of the investigation showed that on January 22, a family was celebrating a birthday in the Fundidores neighborhood of Chimalhuacán when a group of armed men arrived on a motorcycle," according to the statement. Among them were the two minors who "shot at the participants and fled ».
Three adults were killed at the scene 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 have decreased 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 occurred in Mexico since a massive U.S.-backed anti-drug offensive was launched in 2006.