Suspected Gang Members Shoot Down Police Helicopter in Western State of Michoacan Christopher Woody - Business Insider
go to original September 7, 2016

An image purportedly showing a state helicopter crashing in Michoacan, Mexico, September 7, 2016. (Paco García Davish/Quadratin Michoacan)

Update: Death Toll in Crash of Mexico Police Helicopter Rises to 5 (Associated Press)

Gunmen possibly linked to the Knights Templar cartel shot down a helicopter belonging to a state attorney general's office on Tuesday, killing the pilot and three officers and wounding another officer.

The downing came amid a series of clashes that broke out in the restive Tierra Caliente region of Michoacan, a coastal state in Mexico's southwest.

Michoacan, a focal point of drug cultivation and trafficking, has been riven by violence and unrest in recent years, as drug cartels, civil-defense groups, and Mexican security forces have jockeyed for control.

The fighting reportedly started in the early afternoon on Tuesday, when a group of criminals attempted to kidnap an agricultural businessman. Local residents responded to fight off the would-be kidnappers, leading to a series of gunfights in the Cupuán del Río locality in Michoacan's La Huracana municipality.

Alonso Andrade Rentería, known as "El Papas," who was the brother of Knights Templar leader Ignacio "el Cenizo" Rentería, was reportedly killed by Mexico forces in the fighting. After the death of El Papas, the criminals involved intensified their fighting, engaging security forces deployed in response in an hours-long gun battle.

Around 6 p.m., the helicopter crashed in flames, believed to have been shot down by criminals using a Barrett 50-caliber rifle, a weapon considered specialized for use against vehicles.

Read the rest at Business Insider

Related: Senior Mexican Official Confirms Gang Shot Down Police Chopper (Agence France-Presse)

Related: Mexico Hunts for Suspects Who Downed Police Chopper (Agence France-Presse)

Related: Helicopter Shoot-Down Could Signal Resurgence of Mexico Cartel (InSight Crime)

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