Caravan of Death Murders 7 in Ciudad Valles

Gunmen in a convoy of eight vehicles killed six policemen, a city worker and a civilian and terrorized the population in Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosi, during a string of consecutive attacks as the convoy crossed the length of the city.

Local media reported that the convoy entered the city between 6:00 PM and 7:00 PM on Friday, July 30, and drove boulevard Mexico-Laredo Boulevard and arrived first at a Coca Cola bottling where they shot down and killed two state police officers without stopping.

Several blocks later the gunmen stormed a municipal police installation and opened fire, killing three policemen and a civilian worker. Another policeman died later that night in a local hospital of his wounds.

An 80 year old civilian was hit and killed by stray fire from the attack on the municipal policeman.

After the attacks the gunmen took flight but attacked at least 2 police vehicles responding to the attack. Four other policemen were wounded by gunfire including the chief of the Municipal Police, Andres Castillo Vite, who was shot several times and seriously wounded.

Several cars that crossed the convoy were wrecked as the gunmen sped through traffic signals. Many residents and motorists called the Red Cross for help but the paramedics were overwhelmed by the attack.

The military and state and municipal police launched a search for the attackers but were unsuccessful.

Later in the evening the mutilated bodies of four unidentified men wrapped in large plastic trash bags were found abandoned in the city.

At the outskirts of Ciudad Valles motorists were brutally accosted and had their vehicles robbed by the fleeing gunmen who abandoned their vehicles and replaced them with the hijacked cars to avoid detection.

At night, Governor Fernando Toranzo called a meeting with his security team and representatives of SEDENA to address the situation.

On Sunday, August 1, the Mexican Army officially took control of police duties in the city.