Mexico City Police Chief Omar García Harfuch was wounded this morning after he and his bodyguards were attacked by a group of armed men, Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum reported on Twitter.
The attack occurred just after 6:30 a.m. on Paseo de la Reforma in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood as García, 38, was traveling in an armored Suburban to his regular morning briefing with Sheinbaum.
He and his entourage were fired on by a group of men in a truck who were equipped with body armor, pistols, Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifles and fragmentation grenades.
It is believed that García’s vehicle was blocked by another truck when several men jumped out of the first truck and opened fire, blanketing the Suburban in bullets.
One woman was killed while driving nearby and two of García’s bodyguards were shot dead during the attack, which was caught by surveillance cameras in the area.
“To the families of these two brave police officers I send my condolences and say that they are not going to be abandoned,” Sheinbaum told a press conference this morning. She also said she has been in contact with family members of the female victim.
The chief was reported in stable condition and expected to recover.
He claimed via Twitter that the Jalisco New Generation Cartel orchestrated the attack.
“Our nation must continue to stand up against the cowards of organized crime. We shall continue working.”
Attorney General Ernestina Godoy said 12 arrests have been made in the attack thus far.
In his previous job as head of the investigation division of the Federal Police, García was responsible for the release of 186 kidnapping victims, the capture of 606 kidnappers and the dismantling of 56 criminal gangs, according to El Heraldo de México. García was named Mexico City’s chief of police in 2019.
President López Obrador made reference to this morning’s incident in his morning press conference, stating that the attack “has to do, without a doubt, with the work that García is carrying out to guarantee peace and tranquility both in Mexico City and around the country. We express our solidarity, and our total, complete and absolute support for the mayor and the members of the Mexico City public security team.”
Source: Milenio (sp), El Universal (sp), El Financiero (sp), El Heraldo (sp), El País (sp)
