March 6th Mayhem in Monterrey: 13 die

By Chris Covert

Rantburg.com

A total of 13 individuals were killed or found dead in ongoing drug and gang related violence in and around Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, including three armed suspects who were killed in an exchange of gunfire with a Mexican Army patrol in Mina municipality.

• A Mexican Army detachment killed three armed suspects in a gun battle in Mina municipality in Monday.  The unit was on patrol near El Rancho de San Gabriel when the unit came under small arms fire.  Army return fire killed three.  Presumably the remainder of the armed group which attacked the patrol escaped.  Following the exchange of gunfire, soldiers seized seven rifles, 27 weapons magazines and 188 rounds of ammunition, communications and tactical gear, and four vehicles.
• An army patrol discovered a mass grave containing at least four dead in an area seven kilometers east of Monterrey city Monday.  The unit was dispatched based on an anonymous complaint to a location near the village of Santa Ana in Juarez municipality, about 300 meters from the road to San Roque near an abandoned farmhouse.  The unit also detained an undisclosed number of individuals in the area.
• Two unidentified men were shot to death in Monterrey Monday night.  The victims were shot near the intersection of calles Pascual Ortiz Rubio and Narciso Mendoza in Niño Artillero colony.  Reports say a group of armed suspects travelling aboard a sedan opened fire on the two victim as the victims were conversing on the street.  One victim died immediately while the other attempted to flee the attack, but was caught by gunfire only a few meters away.  AR-15 assault rifles were used in the attack.  The shooters left about 100 spent .223 caliber cartridge casings at the scene. The area was a known area for drug dealing.
• An unidentified man was shot to death and immolated on Monterrey's north side.  The victim was shot while in his Volkswagen Golf sedan near on Avenida Luis Donaldo Colosio near Industrias en Ciudad Solidaridad barrio by Pesquería bridge on the city limits with Escobedo.  A total of eight spent .223 cartridge casings were found at the scene just outside the vehicle.  The victim's attackers then doused the vehicle with gasoline and set it afire before fleeing the scene.
• One unidentified individual was shot to death and three others were abducted in Monterrey at around 1500 hrs Tuesday afternoon. The victims were all near the intersection of calles Jose Maria Bocanegra and Amado Nervo in the Industrial colony when an armed group fired on them, killing the victim.
• A former Escobedo municipal police agent was shot and later died while receiving medical attention Tuesday morning in Escobedo.  Benito Fraustro Pruneda, 39, who had been employed as a bakery truck delivery driver was shot outside his residence near the intersection of calles Del Lirio and Raul Caballero in Monterreal colony.  The victim had just boarded his Ford ranger pickup truck for his morning commute when armed suspects travelling aboard a Chevrolet Impala fired on and killed him.  Fraustro Pruneda is survived by his wife and three adult children.
• A manager of a trucking business was shot to death Tuesday afternoon in Allende.  Adolfo Tamez García, 38, was preparing to leave work for the day when armed suspects shot and killed him.  The shooting took place on kilometer 1 of the Allende-Cadereyta highway.  A rifle was found near the scene of the murder.
• One of the three men who were shot and wounded in La Esperanza colony Sunday died of his wounds Tuesday.  Jaime Enrique Calderon Mendoza, 25, and a mason by trade, died at Monterrey's University Hospital.  The other two victims, Luis Fernando Rivera Gaytan, 28, and José Hernandez Zamarrón, 36, apparently remain under medical care.
• Two unidentified Apodaca municipal police agents were shot and wounded, and another two were injured in a car crash Monday night.  The police were in a three vehicle convoy rolling along the Mezquital-Santa Rosa highway when armed suspects travelling aboard four vehicles opened fire on the last vehicle, hitting two police agents.  Police in the other two vehicles attempted to come to the aid of he wounded officers, but one of the drivers crashed his vehicles into a trailer.  The shooters fled the scene aboard their vehicles towards Santo Domingo.  

Chris Covert writes Mexican Drug War and national political news for Rantburg.com

Categories: mexican army, monterrey, shootings