02/08/11 – Three teenagers were shot to death in Ciudad Juárez, which is located in the state of Chihuaha and shares the border with Texas. The murders occurred Saturday February 5, 2011, in the afternoon as the three boys were merely eating tacos while admiring cars in a dealership. According to early police reports, four armed and suspicious looking men asked the boys if they knew where the owner of the dealership was and when none of them answered, the men began to fire incessantly. One of the boys was found inside a white Jeep Cherokee and the other two bodies were in a courtyard. At least 60 bullet casings were found by authorities at the scene of the crime. The two managers of the dealership who were on site at the time of the incident were unhurt. As the investigation has progressed, the motive of the attack still remains unknown and authorities have also had trouble finding any leads on the identities of the shooters.
The parents of each of the three boys were able to identify the bodies. One of the boys, Carlos Mario González Bermúdez, 16, commuted on a daily basis to attend Cathedral High School in El Paso where his older brother, Nick González, is the principal. The second victim, Juan Carlos Echeverri, 15, was also enrolled at Cathedral High School for some time but later decided to continue his education in Ciudad Juárez at Redford High School. The third teenager, who has been identified as César Yalín Miramontes Jiménez, 17, was a distinguished student at the Monterrey Institute of Technology. The first two boys have been confirmed as US citizens.
Nick González has shared that about 485 students that attend Cathedral High School reside in Ciudad Juárez and commute across the border on a daily basis, like his younger brother did. This area is one that has suffered from increasing violent consequences due to the actions of the Sinaloa and Juárez drug cartels that continuously battle for control over territory. According to El Milenio, over three thousand people were murdered last year in this city alone. Ciudad Juárez is considered to be one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico.
Sources:
El Milenio. “Asesinan a tres adolescentes en Ciudad Juarez.” El Milenio. 07, February, 2011.
MSNBC. “Texas teens killed in Mexico triple homicide.” MSNBC. 07, February, 2011.
El Universal. “Matan a tres adolescented en Ciudad.” El Universal. 07 February, 2011.
Sad