Uruapan arcade shooting | |
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Part of Mexican drug war | |
Location | Calle Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico |
Date | February 3, 2020 |
Deaths | 9 |
Injured | 2 |
Perpetrator | Jalisco New Generation Cartel |
On February 3, 2020, suspected CJNG cartel members shot up an arcade in Uruapan, Michoacán, Mexico, killing nine people, including three children.
Uruapan has been the center of a territorial dispute between the Jalisco-based Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Los Viagras cartel based in Michoacán, where Uruapan is located. [1] Reprisal attacks and public killings have been commonplace in the city, and in August 2019, nineteen bodies were disposed of on the road near Uruapan. [1] On the weekend before the arcade shooting, the graves of eleven people were discovered nearby. A police station was also attacked by gunmen in retaliation for the arrest of a Los Viagras member. [1] Just a day prior to the shooting, Los Viagras members released a video showing off weapons they threatened to use against CJNG. [2]
Four armed men walked into the arcade on February 3, looking for Los Viagras members. The arcade, located on Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez street, was a site commonly used by Los Viagras members to sell drugs. [3] [4] The men asked questions to people gaming at the arcade regarding the whereabouts of "El Ruso" and "The Bald One". [5] When the gunmen couldn't find who they were looking for, they shot sporadically throughout the arcade. The weapons shot 9mm bullets, and sixty-five ballistic elements were discovered by Mexican authorities. [5] Nine people were killed in the shooting, including a 12-year-old, a thirteen-year-old, a fourteen-year-old, a seventeen-year-old, and an eighteen-year-old. [6] Two others were injured in the attack. [4]
Families of the victims were not hopeful in Michoacán authorities in detaining the perpetrators. [1] [7] Following the shooting, the war between CJNG and Los Viagras intensified in the Uruapan area. [8]