7-Month-Old Baby and Parents Killed in Mexico; Authorities Arrest 3 Suspects
Mexican authorities have arrested Juan Antonio Lopez Lopez, Oscar Silver Idael Olmedo Lopez and Arturo Arzate Vargas in connection to the murder of a 7-month-old baby along with his parents outside a convenient store in Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca state, Friday, Feb. 5. The suspects were arrested Monday, Feb. 8.
The spokesman of the State Attorney's Office said one of motive of the crime is drug-related, as both parents are allegedly involved in buying and selling of drugs.
"A rival drug gang from (the neighboring state of) Guerrero located them and had them riddled with bullets," the spokesman of the State Attorney's Office said in an interview.
Oaxaca police officers told the CNN that the Mexican baby, Marcos Miguel Pano Colón, was carried by his 24-year-old father, Juan Alberto Pano Ramos, in his arms when they were both shot and killed. Alba Isabel Colón, Marcos Miguel's mother, was also with them.
As reported by GDN Online, people are now urging authorities to do something to control gang violence in Mexico after the picture of the dead Marcos Miguel covered in blood recently became viral on the web. The issue also sparked fierce debate on how Mexicans tend to just accept every negative thing that's happening with mouth closed despite the recent increase of crime rate related to gang violence in the country.
Many people can't help but to compare the tragic story of Marcos Miguel and that of Alan Kurdi, the 3-year-old Syrian refugee, who was found dead on a Turkish beach after he was drowned in the Mediterranean Sea last year. Both of their innocent lives have ended because of violence.
People from social media have expressed their feelings towards the recent drug-related incident by posting through their social media platforms. A Facebook account called "Solo Acapulco" posted: "Do you remember the Syrian boy? Do you remember how you became indignant and even put a little flag on Facebook? Well, this happens in Mexico, in Pinotepa Nacional to be precise, where drug violence killed this family, including this 7-month-old little angel."
Another Twitter user also asked: "Is there no indignation about [what happened] in Pinotepa Nacional? Us Mexicans seem to be more compassionate about what happens to others than ourselves."
In the recent years, drug-related violence has rocketed in the state of Guerrero. In fact, last year it has been reported that the state had 2,016 homicides-the highest homicide rate recorded in the Mexican state as to government figures. The violence has extended to Oaxaca, where Marcos Miguel and his family had recently moved.
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