Police commander killed in central Mexico; third of the year

Police commander killed in central Mexico; third of the year

2011-03-04 23:40:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

JALISCO, MEXICO (BNO NEWS) -- A police commander on Friday was killed in Jalisco state, central Mexico, the third police head assassinated so far this year, El Universal newspaper reported.

Juan Carlos Tafoya Espinoza was killed by a group of gunmen at about 7:00 a.m. local time in Tonala, Jalisco. Tafoya was the first commander of the regional police department.

The police officer was killed in front of his residence as he was boarding a patrol vehicle to get to work. A driver and his bodyguard were involved in the attack but resulted unharmed.

Authorities said that at least 50 bullets were fired agaisnt commander Tafoya. The attackers arrived in two vehicles and fled after murdering the police head in La Providencia neighborhood.

At the crime scene, police officers recovered evidence but so far no suspects have been arrested. The gunmen allegedly used AK-47 weapons and 5.7 caliber guns, known as "copkiller."

On February 24, a police chief was killed along his wife in Jalisco's capital Guadalajara. Quitarte Ruvalcaba, head of the car theft division of the State Police, was killed after attending morning mass.

Hours before, a law agent of the kidnapping division was assassinated in the Las Aguilas neighborhood. Officer Jesus Adriano Gomez was killed as he clashed with a group of gunmen in the southern area of Guadalajara.

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