An altercation between agents of the National Civil Police (PNC) and several members of the Yus family was recorded by several surveillance cameras installed in Santa María Cauqué, Santiago Sacatepéquez. The recordings show how the discussion escalates until several shots are heard, although it is not seen who opens fire. The PNC report indicates that at least one of the agents shot during the incident that occurred on the afternoon of Friday, July 17.
In the first recording, three PNC agents are seen, one of them apparently female and wearing a helmet. The police argue with several citizens until a woman dressed in red pushes the officer.
The uniformed woman responds by grabbing her hair and trying to knock her down. At that moment five other agents intervene, at least three citizens and a minor, while the struggle intensifies.
“Mom, mom, mom!” the boy shouts as he tries to get closer to the woman. At the same time, police and civilians begin to exchange blows.
During the struggle, the woman in red and the agent fall to the ground. The minor tries to help her and continues screaming while hugging her. Seconds later, a girl with long hair and a yellow blouse runs and tries to hug the woman, who remains struggling with the agent.
Meanwhile, other police officers take out their batons and continue clashing with citizens.
26 seconds have passed since the start of the altercation when six gunshots are heard in the recording. The video does not show who fired the shots or where they were directed, but the PNC report indicates that an agent possibly unholstered his firearm and fired preventive shots.
Three adults and one minor were injured in this incident, according to the Police. The victims were identified as Irma Azucena Yus Díaz, 23 years old; Dayana Magali Yus García, 5; Josué Adolfo Yus Orozco, 20, and Jonathan Alexander Yus Orozco, 23.
The wounded
- Irma Azucena Yus Díaz: gunshot wound to the abdomen.
- Dayana Magali Yus García, 5 years old: wound caused by shrapnel from a firearm projectile in the left thigh.
- Josué Adolfo Yus Orozco: short blunt wound in the right parietal region of the skull.
- Jonathan Alexander Yus Orozco: cervical spasm in the neck region.
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What the PNC report says about the incident
In the preliminary investigation section, the report states:
According to the PNC report, “the victims were sitting on the sidewalk, on the public road of 5th street, zone 1, at 6:00 p.m. on July 17 in the village of Santa María Cauqué, when PNC agents tried to identify the victims, who resisted.”
He adds that, as a result of the altercation, a PNC agent, due to adrenaline or nervousness, possibly unholstered his firearm and fired preventative shots because he was surrounded by relatives of the victims.
“He fired warning shots and, possibly, due to the ricochet of the projectiles off the cobblestone, the aforementioned people were injured,” the Police said.
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The claim of the minor’s father
In a second video, the father of the injured girl is seen complaining to the PNC agents about the shooting.
“They hit my five-year-old daughter with a bomb. They attacked my sister too. It’s my daughter who was wounded by the Municipal Firefighters,” he shouted at the agents.
“How is it possible that they are going to use their weapons at my daughter? My daughter left badly injured,” he continued to complain to the agents at the scene.
The man assures that none of his family members carried weapons.
“No one in the family here carries an illegal weapon, much less a knife, for them to use the weapon like that! That is something illegal! That is against the law!” claimed the father of the family.
The response of the PNC
Asked if the agents had fired, the Department of Social Communication of the PNC responded that this has not yet been confirmed and that it will be the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif) that will determine if there are actually gunshot wounds.
Regarding the actions derived from the incident, the institution added that “at the moment, no arrests have been made due to the altercations.”