Shooting in Los Andes, La Paz: police investigate confrontation between two criminal gangs
La Paz police are pointing to a dispute between criminal groups following a shootout in the Los Andes area. One person remains hospitalised and the vehicle driver was detained.
Shooting in Los Andes leaves one wounded and activates Plan Z in La Paz
According to eju.tv, the departmental commander of the La Paz Police, Ricardo Terrazas, reported on Wednesday that investigations into the shootout recorded in the Los Andes area are preliminarily pointing to a dispute between two criminal groups. The main reason supporting this hypothesis is the absence of a robbery report.
"We are in the full process of investigation to understand the circumstances, because in this particular case there would be no complainant, but rather an encounter, perhaps, in accordance with preliminary investigations, between two groups that possibly would have some type of grievances," Terrazas stated.
During the course of the investigations, police became aware that a man entered a private clinic located on Avenida 6 de Agosto with a bullet wound. Police personnel attended the scene and established that the injured man had been travelling as a passenger in one of the vehicles involved in the confrontation.
The investigators also managed to identify the driver of the motorised vehicle involved, who was intercepted and taken to facilities of the Special Force to Combat Crime (Felcc) to give a statement. The injured man remains hospitalised and will have to give a statement once he is in a condition to do so, Terrazas specified.
The police chief clarified, however, that the hypothesis of a confrontation between gangs remains preliminary and must be confirmed with the evidence gathered by the investigators.
The incident occurred days earlier in the Los Andes area, where an exchange of gunfire took place that generated widespread police mobilisation and the activation of Plan Z. The suspected individuals fled the scene and abandoned a white-coloured vehicle and a motorcycle, both seized by police for the proceedings.
According to the first information provided by Terrazas, the white vehicle would have attempted to intercept another lead-coloured motorised vehicle. The fact was noticed by pedestrians and shop owners in the sector, an area where jewelleries and numerous white goods businesses operate.
Police continue investigations to establish the exact circumstances of the confrontation, identify all those involved, and determine whether there was any prior connection or conflict between the suspected participants.
Source: Google News BO — La Paz