Heartwrenching Photo of Dead Baby Alongside Slain Parents in Mexico Gang War Sparks Outrage
There's absolutely no justification for the tragedy.
Yes, it is quite common knowledge that the Guerrero region in Mexico is rampant with gang violence. The region, after all, is home to a number of the world's most notorious gangs. Drug trafficking is pretty rampant too, with a significant number of people in their late teens to their 20s being involved in the drug trade one way or another.
But none of these reasons justify the tragedy in the city of Pinotepa Nacional in Oaxaca state, Mexico last Friday, Jan. 29, when seven-month-old Marcos Miguel Pano Colón, together with his parents, 24-year-old Juan Alberto Pano Ramos and 17-year-old Alba Isabel Colón, were brutally gunned down as they walked in front of a convenience store. All three were killed on the spot, according to CNN.
Marcos was not yet a year old before his life was unceremoniously ended by a rain of bullets.
Marcos' parents were suspected of working for Isidoro Gonzáles Gerónimo, a known drug trafficker in the area. According to the state's attorney's office, Gonzáles was also shot and killed on the same day Marcos' family was gunned down, reported The Daily Mail.
A day after the killing, police apprehended four people who are suspected of being linked to the heinous act. The men are suspected of being linked to a rival gang in the nearby state of Guerrero. A gang which, prosecutors allege, might have ordered the execution of the family.
The image of the slain family, which has gone viral in social media, has disgusted the world, with people all over condemning the actions. After all, how much does it take for a man to shoot a seven-month-old baby? Such an act requires a special type of gall in order to be carried out.
As of writing, thousands of comments have already been said on Facebook and Twitter alone, with people blaming senseless gang violence for the death of innocent lives.
Some netizens even drew comparisons between Marcos and three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, who was found dead on a Turkish beach after his family attempted to flee the chaos in Syria. With Mexico's recent tragedy, it seems like it is once more the innocents who have paid the ultimate price for the folly of others, according to The New York Daily News.
Gang violence has been rampant in the state of Guerrero in recent years. With 2,016 homicides reported last year, the region has earned the highest homicide rate in the country. Recently, however, the violence has spilled over the neighboring state of Oaxaca, where Marcos, together with his mother and father, met their untimely end.
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