A 14-year-old boy, that is nicknamed “El Chapito” after the notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, is accused of taking part in a mass shooting in Mexico that has left eight people dead and seven more injured.
According to the Daily Mail, the teen is believed to have rode up on a motorcycle and then opened fire on a family that was celebrating a birthday in the Mexico City suburb of Chimalhuacan. The brutal massacre took place on Jan 22 with the arrests announced on Thurday. The motives for the brutal attack are still unknown; however, it is assumed to be related to gangs or drugs due to the suspects.
Another man, named “El Nono,” was apprehended in connection to the shooting. As stated by Mexico’s federal public safety department, seven other gang members have been charged with drug-related offenses. Although the boy’s real name has not been disclosed, “El Chapito” translates to “the little boy,” and “El Nono” means “the ninth.”
The 14-year-old was transferred to a judge in Mexico’s Comprehensive Criminal Justice System for Adolescents, implemented through a constitutional amendment in 2005. This system provides special tribunals and alternative justice options for juveniles, allowing minors to be institutionalized only in extreme cases or if they are older than 14 and have committed a criminal offense.