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Puente Grande prison fight leaves eight dead and eight injured in Mexico

Five inmates were detained for participating in the attack

Puente Grande prison is located in Jalisco - Photo: File photo/EL UNIVERSAL
23/05/2020 |11:24
Redacción El Universal
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Eight inmates

were killed and eight were injured after a clash inside Puente Grande prison in Jalisco . So far, authorities still ignore the cause of the violent events that involved two firearms illegally introduced to the prison.

According to the general director of Jalisco’s Prevention and Social Reintegration , José Antonio Pérez Juárez , the conflict. was neither a riot nor a dispute for the control of the prison.

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“A very small group directed an attack for reasons, that, so far, would be only speculations, and that is the responsibility of the attorney general’s office, but there was indeed an attack and the population had a response against what it deemed unfair because those who were attacked were not people who caused trouble, they reacted violently ,” he said.

The officer, who was at the prison at the moment of the events, said that there were nearly 7 detonations and that the attack began at 13:30 on Friday.

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“It actually took me by surprise because it was a prison known for being peaceful and because there is not a dispute inside it nor a fight for its control,” he mentioned.

The state’s attorney general Gerardo Octavio Solís Gómez mentioned that three of those killed died from gunshot wounds and five died from beatings

Following the intervention of several corporations that arrived at the penitentiary center , five alleged aggressors were detained and two firearms, caliber 0.380 and 5.7 respectively, were seized, in addition to a homemade explosive device .

Public Security minister Juan Bosco Agustín Pacheco

announced an investigation left by the Direction of Internal Affairs to determine the level of responsibility of the personnel working at the prison.

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As of Friday night, authorities had not released the names of those involved in the dispute nor information related to their links to rival criminal organizations .

The coordinator of Jalisco’s Security Board Macedonio Tamez Guajardo said that after the Puente Grande events, the situation inside all state prisons was evaluated and asserted that all remain calm.

He insisted on the fact that the attorney general’s office will carry a detailed investigation to determine how the firearms entered the prison and who were involved in their trafficking; authorities did not inform if they are planning to search for more firearms inside the prison.

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