Border violence
15 killed at teen party in Juarez
$76,000 reward offered in attack
Armed men attacked students at a Saturday party in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico, killing 15 and wounding at least 28.
The New York Times reported that local officials could give no reason for the attack.
Chihuahua State authorities gave no motive for the mass killing, but it bore all the signs of the drug violence that has consumed the city over the past three years. Juárez has become ground zero in the government’s war against drug traffickers, as rival cartels use their enormous firepower to fight over drug distribution and routes across the border to Texas.
Local residents told the Associated Press, as reported in the El Paso Times, that the massacre was a case of mistaken identity.
"It must have been a huge mistake," said Martha Lujan, who lives at the housing complex.
The Times also reported that armed men attacked a group of about 60 people at a party in the Salvarcar subdivsion is this border town across the Rio Grande from El Paso. The youngest victim was 13. A $76,000 reward has been offered.
Local officials were stunned at the savagery of the attack. The Dallas Morning News reported:
"We've never had a tragedy like this one," said Alfredo Quijano, editor of Norte de Ciudad Juárez, which has been documenting the rash of killings that began in January 2008. "We've had students targeted, or young teens killed at rehab centers, bars, but never a group of students gathered among friends. This is one of the saddest days in Juárez."
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On the Web
- New York Times: Gunmen in Mexico Kill 15 in Attack on a Teenagers’ Party
- El Paso Times: Gunmen kill 13 high school, college students at party in Juárez
- Dallas Morning News: Juárez gunmen kill 14 at teen's party
- El Diario: Suman 15 muertos por atentado en fiesta
