Mexican prosecutors said police killed a 7-year-old American girl when officers opened fire from a helicopter while fighting back against drug cartel operatives near the Texas border.
The girl, identified only as “Aranza,” was struck in the head on Oct. 29 as police sought to crack down on cartel street blockades following the arrest of a gang leader, prosecutors in Tamaulipas state said Friday
Tamaulipas Attorney General Jesus Govea said the officers who shot at the girl and her family have not been arrested and an investigation is ongoing, CBS News reported.
People were interested in these podcasts
The girl’s mother told Mexican media that the family noticed a police helicopter was tailing their pickup truck, in which she, her husband and their five children were traveling in Mexico.
The family pulled over and her husband tried to wave off the helicopter to show they were civilians, but police opened fire at them moments later, the mother said.
Mr. Govea said police may have confused the pickup truck with a suspected cartel vehicle that had attacked them during road blockades in Matamoros, which borders Brownsville, Texas.
The police shooting came on the same day Mexican authorities arrested Axel Alfredo Cardenas Rodriguez, the second-in-command of the Gulf Cartel’s Ciclones faction.
Mexican officials said the cartel leader has been involved in murders, kidnappings and human, drug and weapons smuggling into the U.S.
Cardenas Rodriguez’s arrest ignited fierce opposition from cartel forces, who took over major roads and set several vehicles on fire.
Mexican media said six people died the day of his arrest, with five people dying from crashing into vehicles used to block major roads.
The Washington Times has reached out to the State Department for comment.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.