VIOLENCE IN JUAREZ

4 die in series of attacks on Juárez police

By Daniel Borunda

El Paso Times
March 19, 2020

Two police officers were killed Wednesday in Juárez in a series of attacks on law enforcement, including shootings at a police station, an industrial park and outside a hospital.

Two gunmen also were killed and 17 suspects were arrested by municipal and state police, the Chihuahua state attorney general's office said Thursday.

Nine people were wounded, including four bystanders, four police officers and a National Guard soldier, in eight attacks that appeared to be a coordinated offensive against police in the Mexican border city, the state attorney general's office said.

Juárez remains largely open despite widespread school, store and business closures across the Rio Grande in El Paso due to COVID-19 prevention measures.

There have been 17 suspects arrested on various charges and 15 rifles and six handguns seized as well as 11 vehicles. Investigators will determine if weapons and vehicles were used in the attacks, the state attorney general's office said Thursday.

Timeline of attacks

The attacks started at 6:20 p.m. Tuesday when gunmen fired at officers with the State Security Commission in colonia Anahuac, south of downtown Juárez, officials said. There were no reported injuries.

The assaults were then almost continuous at various locations Wednesday afternoon near downtown and eastern Juárez.

The repeated shootings resulted in a large mobilization by law enforcement. A public transport bus also was set on fire, a possible diversionary tactic used by gangs.

Authorities on Thursday afternoon released updated information regarding the shoottimeline. The attacks Wednesday were:

6:30 a.m. — A city police officer was shot in the arm during an attack in the Anapra area in western Juárez.

1:19 p.m. — State Security Commission officers are attacked on Manuel Talamás Camandari Avenue and Independencia Boulevard in eastern Juárez. A state officer was killed and another officer wounded.

1:25 p.m. — A National Guard soldier is shot and wounded in an attack at the Americas Industrial Park on Independencia Boulevard in eastern Juárez.

2 p.m. — Gunmen attack the downtown municipal police station on 16 de Septiembre Avenue. There were no injuries.

2:08 p.m. — A police officer working as a guard at a gas company is shot and killed at 16 de Septiembre Avenue and Oro Street, just east of downtown.

2:20 p.m. — Police are attacked in a drive-by shooting outside the general hospital. Five people, including a police officer, were injured when hit by debris.

4:11 p.m. — A municipal police officer is wounded when struck by debris when gunmen attack police in the Chaveña neighborhood near downtown.

The Chihuahua state attorney general's office has not disclosed which crime group might be responsible for the attacks.

Similar coordinated assaults on law enforcement have occurred before in Juárez amid crime groups fighting for control of local drug markets.

There have been more than 300 murders in Juárez this year, including more than 90 this month, according to a daily tally by the Norte Digital news website.