Mexican soldiers used alleged criminals' own guns to kill those who initially survived a confrontation at a warehouse southwest of Mexico City, the country's attorney general said Friday.
In an interview with MVS Radio, Jesus Murillo Karam said that three soldiers have been charged with murder and a lieutenant with a cover up for the events of June 30 in San Pedro Limon, a community in the municipality of Tlatlaya in the state of Mexico.
Murillo said the majority of the 22 alleged criminals killed that day had already died in the shootout, but that at least eight were still alive before the three soldiers finished them off.
Murillo had said on Tuesday that the government had a new version of what happened in Tlatlaya and that there had been two exchanges of gunfire before the killings at the warehouse.
Authorities have maintained that seven soldiers and a lieutenant participated in the confrontation and all have been charged in the military justice system with violations of military policies.
Murillo said that a witness confirmed that version of events in a declaration Tuesday, though the woman had told The Associated Press and Esquire magazine weeks earlier in separate interviews that 21 of the victims were killed after surrendering.
The witness had told the AP that she saw soldiers kill her 15-year-old daughter who was wounded on the ground. She spoke under condition of anonymity fearing reprisals and could not be reached on Friday.
The story of what happened in the warehouse has taken several turns in the past three months.
The army said initially that the 22 alleged criminals died in a single clash and that soldiers freed three kidnapped women. But that version was questioned because the military said that only one soldier was wounded in the shootout.
AP journalists visited the warehouse days later and found little evidence of an extended shootout. On the walls were bullet holes at chest level, suggesting shots fired at close range.
However, Murillo said Friday on MVS that it was the army that first notified his office days after the incident that it had detected irregularities and policy violations, leading it to open an investigation.
Federal authorities did not investigate the scene until mid-September and had not interviewed the witness until Tuesday
FILE - In this July 3, 2014 file photo, bullet holes and blood stain a wall above where bodies were found in an unfinished warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon in Mexico state, Mexico. Mexico’s Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 that soldiers used the alleged criminals’ own guns to kill those who were still alive following the confrontation in which 22 people died.
A woman holds a sign in support of soldiers who were arrested, in Mexico City, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014. Three soldiers were charged with murder and a lieutenant with a cover up for the events of June 30 in San Pedro Limon, a community in the municipality of Tlatlaya, in the state of Mexico, where 22 alleged criminals were killed that day.
In this Thursday, July 3, 2014, file photo, state police stand inside a warehouse where a black cross covers a wall near blood stains on the ground, after a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon, in Mexico state, Mexico. The Mexican government is giving yet another version of what happened when soldiers killed 22 suspected gang members at the warehouse. Attorney General Jesus Murrillo Karam said Tuesday Oct. 7, 2014, that all 22 were either dead or wounded in the June 30 exchange of fire, even though a witness previously told The Associated Press and Esquire in separate interviews that 21 were killed after they had surrendered.
In this July 3, 2014 file photo, state authorities use crime scene tape to seal off an unfinished warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon in Mexico state, Mexico. Three soldiers have been charged with homicide in the June killings of 22 suspected gang members in southern Mexico, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam announced on Tuesday Sept. 30 2014.
in this July 3, 2014 file photo, bullet holes and blood stains cover a wall above papers marking where bodies were found in an unfinished warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon, in Mexico state, Mexico. An army officer and seven soldiers who face disciplinary action for their participation in the killing of 22 people at this warehouse in rural southern Mexico belong to an army battalion with a history of incidents.
In an interview with MVS Radio, Jesus Murillo Karam said that three soldiers have been charged with murder and a lieutenant with a cover up for the events of June 30 in San Pedro Limon, a community in the municipality of Tlatlaya in the state of Mexico.
Murillo said the majority of the 22 alleged criminals killed that day had already died in the shootout, but that at least eight were still alive before the three soldiers finished them off.
He said authorities confirmed that some of the bullets that killed the alleged criminals "do not match the army's guns," and in the course of the investigation determined that "they shot them with the guns of the dead."
Murillo had said on Tuesday that the government had a new version of what happened in Tlatlaya and that there had been two exchanges of gunfire before the killings at the warehouse.
Authorities have maintained that seven soldiers and a lieutenant participated in the confrontation and all have been charged in the military justice system with violations of military policies.
Murillo said that a witness confirmed that version of events in a declaration Tuesday, though the woman had told The Associated Press and Esquire magazine weeks earlier in separate interviews that 21 of the victims were killed after surrendering.
The witness had told the AP that she saw soldiers kill her 15-year-old daughter who was wounded on the ground. She spoke under condition of anonymity fearing reprisals and could not be reached on Friday.
The story of what happened in the warehouse has taken several turns in the past three months.
The army said initially that the 22 alleged criminals died in a single clash and that soldiers freed three kidnapped women. But that version was questioned because the military said that only one soldier was wounded in the shootout.
AP journalists visited the warehouse days later and found little evidence of an extended shootout. On the walls were bullet holes at chest level, suggesting shots fired at close range.
However, Murillo said Friday on MVS that it was the army that first notified his office days after the incident that it had detected irregularities and policy violations, leading it to open an investigation.
Federal authorities did not investigate the scene until mid-September and had not interviewed the witness until Tuesday
FILE - In this July 3, 2014 file photo, bullet holes and blood stain a wall above where bodies were found in an unfinished warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon in Mexico state, Mexico. Mexico’s Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam said on Friday, Oct. 10, 2014 that soldiers used the alleged criminals’ own guns to kill those who were still alive following the confrontation in which 22 people died.
A woman holds a sign in support of soldiers who were arrested, in Mexico City, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2014. Three soldiers were charged with murder and a lieutenant with a cover up for the events of June 30 in San Pedro Limon, a community in the municipality of Tlatlaya, in the state of Mexico, where 22 alleged criminals were killed that day.
In this Thursday, July 3, 2014, file photo, state police stand inside a warehouse where a black cross covers a wall near blood stains on the ground, after a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon, in Mexico state, Mexico. The Mexican government is giving yet another version of what happened when soldiers killed 22 suspected gang members at the warehouse. Attorney General Jesus Murrillo Karam said Tuesday Oct. 7, 2014, that all 22 were either dead or wounded in the June 30 exchange of fire, even though a witness previously told The Associated Press and Esquire in separate interviews that 21 were killed after they had surrendered.
In this July 3, 2014 file photo, state authorities use crime scene tape to seal off an unfinished warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon in Mexico state, Mexico. Three soldiers have been charged with homicide in the June killings of 22 suspected gang members in southern Mexico, Attorney General Jesus Murillo Karam announced on Tuesday Sept. 30 2014.
in this July 3, 2014 file photo, bullet holes and blood stains cover a wall above papers marking where bodies were found in an unfinished warehouse that was the site of a shootout between Mexican soldiers and alleged criminals on the outskirts of the village of San Pedro Limon, in Mexico state, Mexico. An army officer and seven soldiers who face disciplinary action for their participation in the killing of 22 people at this warehouse in rural southern Mexico belong to an army battalion with a history of incidents.
