Posted on 08/12/2005 8:55:36 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
NUEVO LAREDO - A man was gunned down while walking on a downtown street in the violence-wracked border city of Nuevo Laredo on Thursday, and an assailant shot at the car of a female police officer, one day after another woman cop was shot to death.
Killings and shooting sprees in Nuevo Laredo have become so bad - featuring assault rifles, heavy machine guns and even bazookas - that many residents of Laredo now avoid coming here. The United States closed its consulate here briefly, before reopening it this week.
In Thursday's attack, witnesses said a 34-year-old man died in a hail of bullets after coming out of a grocery store on a main street in the upscale Madero neighborhood.
Police found spent shell casings from an AR-15 assault rifle at the scene.
Earlier in the day, a female city police officer wrecked her car after crashing it into several other vehicles during what she said was an attempt to escape gunfire.
Two bullet holes were found in her car; she was detained by transit police.
On Wednesday, a female police officer was shot to death and a woman identified as an a former municipal officer was wounded in another attack. Unidentified gunmen intercepted the car both women were traveling in at a stoplight and opened fire.
Since January, about 110 people have been slain in Nuevo Laredo, a city of 350,000 people across U.S. border from Laredo.
Authorities say the violence stems from a war between two powerful drug cartels for control of smuggling routes.
On June 8, the city's then-police chief was gunned down within hours of taking office, prompting President Vicente Fox to send hundreds of soldiers and federal agents to Nuevo Laredo to restore order.
Why?
NL Ping!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
Dog bites man.
The reason given was for "emergency purposes only". I took this to mean continuing support for Americans in that ciudad. I do not think the consulate is open for normal business.
Who do these savage Mexicans think they are? Muslims?
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