Gunmen shot and killed two municipal police officers yesterday in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, bringing to 24 the number of police killed in the state this year.

The attack occurred at about 1:40pm on Independencia avenue in the San Rafael neighborhood, located just over a kilometer northwest of the historic center.

The police were responding to a report of gunfire when they were shot at by armed men who got out of a black Honda SUV.

After the attack, municipal police from San Miguel and Dolores Hidalgo, soldiers and state and Federal Police participated in an operation to capture the perpetrators assisted by city security cameras, which tracked the men’s vehicle.

The Guanajuato Attorney General’s Office reported that two of three men believed responsible for the crime were arrested in the neighborhood of Montes de Loreto. Police also seized weapons and the car in which the men were traveling.

The double homicide takes the number of police officers killed in the line of duty in Guanajuato this year to 24, a figure higher than in any other state.

State security commissioner Sophia Huett described the loss of officers’ lives as “regrettable” but added that police slayings are down 42% this year compared to 2018.

“It’s not enough because we want to get to zero homicides, in other words a reduction of 100%. It doesn’t console us to have fewer homicides but we’re working and there are results,” she said.

San Miguel de Allende Mayor Luis Alberto Villareal condemned yesterday’s attack.

“I am terribly sorry about the events and secondly we condemn them. Thirdly, we’re working in coordination with the state, the federal government and the army . . . so that these cowardly acts don’t go unpunished. Fourthly, I feel very proud of the San Miguel de Allende police who did an extraordinary job to be able to follow the alleged perpetrators . . . and achieve their arrest,” he said.

Source: Milenio (sp)