Multiple gunmen opened fire Monday night, killing four and injuring two in the west of Colombia’s second largest city of Medellin.
The massacre occurred shortly before midnight in Barrio Cristobal in the city’s Comuna 12 district. According to police, two men approached a group of drug users near the field and, after asking “who sold,” proceeded to open fire.
Four died of their wounds, including a minor of 15, while two others were seriously injured, and subsequently taken to a local hospital to receive treatment. The identities of the deceased have not been released.
This is the second massacre since Saturday night, when three people were gunned down in the early evening, while driving through Bello municipality, in the north of Medellin’s metropolitan area. A fourth person was also killed in the incident after being struck by the victims’ car. Police have attributed the Bello incident to a local gang called the Pachely.
Medellin’s rising crime rate over the first few months led Colombia’s National Police Director Jose Roberto Leon to state that the city is in crisis.
MORE: Medellin suffering security ‘crisis’: Colombia Police
Since March 18, the police director has been stationed in Medellin to take direct control of police efforts to combat the increased violence, as part of a planned police intervention. This latest massacre comes ahead of an official visit by President Juan Manuel Santos to review Medellin’s security situation, and to review the progress of the police intervention.
FACT SHEET: Medellin violence statistics
Location of the massacres
Sources
- Masacre en cancha del occidente de Medellin (Colombiano)
- Sicarios asesinan a cuatro personas en Comuna 13 de Medellin (Caracol Radio)
