Kid Killers

Three high school students — two boys and a girl — were assassinated Wednesday afternoon, January 6, shortly after taking some prep exams on campus. All were 16 years of age. The students (Osvaldo Martinez, Jaora Silva, and Jonathan Tadeo), who attended Sistema COBACH in the colonia Tres Octubre, were gunned down while in their vehicle, a few yards from the school. Their assailants used high-caliber weapons in the ambush and left the vehicle, a Jeep Cherokee, perforated with 35 bulletholes.

The triple homicide followed Monday's gangland-style slaying of José Labastida Fimbres. More than 50 bullets were shot at the 17-year-old boy as he sat in his Audi outside the family home in TJ. Police believe he was deliberately targeted. Fimbres was the son of a well-known Baja grocery magnate and attended Mater Dei prep school in Chula Vista.

Victor Clark Alfaro, director of the Binational Center for Human Rights, was quoted in Frontera as saying he believed that the recent spate of killings in TJ — 33 executions in the past eight days — is intended to create a pervasive atmosphere of terror in the city.

Directors of youth groups are advising students to be more conscientious and to take precautions in their daily doings, as it appears that they are no longer immune to violence.

Sources: Frontera, La Segunda, El Mexicano