Traffic disrupts getaway after shooting in Juárez
By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Article Launched: 06/03/2008 10:18:53 PM MDT



A group of armed men apparently fleeing a homicide in Juárez killed one bystander, shot wildly and crashed into cars when they tried to force their way through a traffic jam early Tuesday evening.

Also on Tuesday, Mexican army soldiers arrested five alleged hit men who were found with firearms, military uniforms, bulletproof vests and shortwave radios, news reports stated. Soldiers also seized about 110 pounds of marijuana, methamphetamines and heroin.

But despite the morning arrests, violence flared again during the day as part of a wave of homicides that has left about 400 dead this year.

Two men were found fatally shot in a vehicle and a third man was found dead near downtown Juárez, reported Channel 26-KINT (cable Channel 2).

About 5 p.m., a man in a convertible was gunned down, but the shooters apparently ran into a traffic jam while attempting to get away along Camino Viejo a San Jose and Avenida Adolfo Lopez Mateos in the south-central part of the city, KINT reported.

The shooters began to ram vehicles and opened fire in a move to force their way through traffic, according to news reports. A woman passing through the area was shot and killed, the driver of a white Ford Expedition was critically wounded, and at least five vehicles were bashed before the



gunmen managed to escape, KINT reported.
Some news reports in Juárez said that as many as four people were killed in the encounter and that some of the shooters escaped on foot. Chihuahua state police, which investigate homicides, could not be reached Tuesday evening.

The chaos came after three headless bodies were found Sunday and Monday in the community of El Sauzal in the Valley of Juárez with notes threatening members of reputed Sinaloa drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman's organization.

The bodies were identified as Daniel Pulido Davila, 23; Juan Gerardo Gonzalez Salinas, 24; and Jesus Ricardo Gonzalez Salinas, 19. All three died of strangulation, Chihuahua state police said.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com;546-6102.





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