Friday, December 9, 2011

In Mexico, gunmen opened fire on the occupants of an ambulance Wednesday, resulting in the deaths of the ambulance driver, two kidney patients, and a female fourth individual travelling in the vehicle. The incident occurred in Ciudad Juárez, close to the Mexico–United States border.

Witnesses recalled sighting a pick up truck carrying the gunmen deliberately colliding with the ambulance and forcing it to stop, then the gunmen getting out of the truck and shooting the victims. The ambulance driver, who was impacted in the head by a bullet, seemed to be the gunmen’s intended target, according to Mexican authorities.

No specific reason has been suggested for the killings at this stage. However, it is understood that Ciudad Juárez, adjacent to El Paso, Texas on the United States side of the border, has drug-related businesses currently in a dispute with each other.

Over 1800 people have been killed in Ciudad Juárez this year compared to over three thousand murders last year, according to Voice of America. Ciudad Juárez is one of the most significant locations in the Mexican Drug War, which was launched by Felipe Calderón, the current President of Mexico, in 2006. Since then, about thirty thousand deaths have been recorded as Calderón has proceeded against the drug cartels.