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Dateline: Corner of Tonalá and Nayarit, a couple of blocks from my house
Thursday afternoon a worrisome message came across our street’s group WhatsApp account. At 3:30 PM in broad, friggin’, daylight there was a shootout a couple of blocks away from my house, and a block away from an elementary school. Supposedly a group of 3 motorcyclists shot at a car and then either stole it and/or kidnapped the occupant. According to the account, two cops in a car were nearby, along with 2 officers on foot, who apparently did nothing.
I happened to be in the house at the time, talking with my architect and I heard nothing, which surprised me, given the proximity. We had been sitting in a bedroom nearest to the street with the window open. So when I heard the news, I scanned Google News for “balacera, Roma Sur.” Nothing. Then I checked Twitter. Again nothing. I reported this back to the list and asked if anyone had personally seen this. No one had.
I grew skeptical, but worried at the same time. Had Mexico City become so blasé about crime that such an event went unnoticed, unreported, and untweeted? Like bank robberies in the USA, so common that they aren’t newsworthy? My neighbors said they had verified it in a chat with the police, but I was still doubtful. This morning, I re-ran my news and Twitter searches and still came up with nothing.
So I decided to take matters into my own hands. Friday afternoon I went to the location of the crime, and started talking to shop owners. Had they heard it? Seen anything? It turns out that, yes, they had heard and seen some of it. The owner of a bicycle shop had seen the car fleeing in reverse, pursued by motorcycles. He was also clear about how many gunshots: three. Then I asked if the police had been by to interview them. I was disappointed, but not surprised to find that no, the police hadn’t done any investigations.
I reported all of this back to my neighborhood WhatsApp list.
Dear Neighbors, I just personally investigated yesterday’s shootout. I went by Calle Tonalá where it took place and asked four businesses. All four heard the gunshots. The guys in the bicycle repair shop told me there were three gunshots and a car backing up pursued by a motorbike. They escaped, possibly having also kidnapped the driver. So far the police haven’t investigated anything. As we all know, there are five serious crimes here: possession of a firearm; discharging it in the city; robbery; assault; and possible kidnapping.
As a foreigner I could be deported from the country for getting involved in politics. As such, I’m very reluctant to get any more involved than reporting what I’ve found to all of you on the list. But I’d like to support any one of us who is willing to go to the police and insist that they make a proper investigation.
If we tolerate crime, we’re going to get more.
Thanks and greetings, and an apology for being so skeptical at first.
This is the second major crime that’s happened in the last six months near my house. In October, there was a mass holdup at the Cine Tonalá, an arts cinema a few blocks away. Armed bandits pulled up on a motorcycle one evening around six, locked everyone into the theater, and then robbed the bunch of them at gunpoint. As far as I know, no suspects have been detained.
So things here are a little too exciting. While I’m not terribly worried personally, I can’t say that I’m unconcerned either. And if the global recession that many are predicting hits, well it ain’t gonna get any better. Hopefully we can get the police more interested, but I’m not holding my breath.
Saludos!
colm54 said:
Lunacy will visit you where ever you live, it’s a fact of life! I live in a relatively rural backwater yet last week a lunatic who had broken his leg in a car accident “walked” out of a hospital, pinched a small earth mover and took off. The cops cornered him and shot him twice!
https://beta.ctvnews.ca/local/vancouver-island/2023/3/29/1_6334225.amp.html
You just happened to buy in a particular spot in some backwater in Mexico City, it hasn’t up to now and possibly may not happen for four or more years! C’est la vie, I’m sure you are ok, breath in breath out phew…
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Kim G said:
Hola Colm! Indeed, there’s no shortage of lunacy in the world, is there? I think you’re right. But my ex-BF was always talking about assaults, crime, etc. He used to live a few blocks from my house, and he was assaulted around Christmas a couple years back. Couple that with the fact that he’s a small guy anyway, and I can understand his preoccupation. Still, some of it rubbed off on me, and I worry a lot more about crime than I used to. Also getting older probably pushes me in that direction too. All that aside, I have a lot of blessings to count and have never personally had any problem with criminals here. The police, though, are another matter, hehe. Anyway, thanks for stopping by! Cheers
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Alfredo Lanier said:
In the overwhelming number of cases Mexican cops are about as useless as teats on a bull. They stand around open-mouthed as if waiting for someone to arrive and actually do something. I don’t know if that’s because of poor training and/or salaries, corruption, cowardice or stupidity, or the fact they get little respect from the public. Check what happened in Ciudad Juarez where 39 guys were broiled alive while guards/soldiers/police stood around doing nothing. How big is the problem, of course, is impossible to determine because most crime is not reported, nor the figures not publicized, probably for fear of implicating the guilty.
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Kim G said:
Hola Al!
I think for all of the reasons you mentioned, the cops are useless. In general, there are WAY more cops here than in any American city that I can think of, yet, there’s a ton of crime. And I’m not talking about unauthorized pruning of the bushes in front of your house. (Of which I’ve heard tales of prosecutions.) And yes, you are totally right too about the size of the problem being unknown. And it’s all very sad. This city is filled with cameras. As I demonstrated myself, there were witnesses. Going around and putting the pieces together isn’t exactly as hard as building a satellite network or something liek that. Yet it still goes undone. Meanwhile ordinary folks are unprotected and simultaneously hassled about things like pruning bushes, painting their facades, or making a video on the street without permission. Anyway, thanks for your comment. Saludos a Stew! Cheers!
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Alfredo Lanier said:
Now that you mention it, San Miguel also must have a thousand cameras, videotaping every inch of the place. What they do with all that video I don’t know.
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Kim G said:
Hola Al: I’m sure they upload it to Chinese servers and then surround it with a thicket of red tape so dense that it’s basically unobtainable to anyone.
Here in Mexico City, friends who have tried to get copies of this video have been foiled by endless red tape and excuses. The father of a friend had his auto upholstery workshop broken into, requested the video of the nearest 2 intersections and was denied because his shop door wasn’t covered by the cameras. This video should be a matter of public record, available for download on a website to anyone, anywhere who wants it. It’s outrageous that this is not the case everywhere. Hopefully things are better there. Cheers!
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Michael Dickson said:
Take cover, Kim, and hope for the best.
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Kim G said:
Thank you, Michael. You’ve probably seen worse gunfire where you are. Protection from bullets is one of the good things about living in a brick and concrete house. Cheers!
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Michael Dickson said:
Worse gunfire where I am? I heard more gunfire in the night when I lived in Houston in the 1990s than I ever hear hereabouts. And that was the´90s in Houston. Lord knows what it’s like up there now. Move to Mexico where it’s safe. That’s my motto. Exceptions being traffic and belonging to a cartel.
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Kim G said:
Michael: Well, I recall a post you did maybe ten or more years ago where you talked about a cartel battle near your house. I think what you wrote about was worse than what I just wrote about. But I could be wrong. As for Mexico being safe, well, that depends highly on where you are specifically, just as it does in the USA. Despite my post, I’m still in a pretty safe neighborhood; certainly there are far worse. Anyway, thanks for the comment. Cheers!
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