MEXICO CITY —
Men wearing what appeared to be police uniforms opened fire in a food court at Mexico City’s international airport on Monday, killing three federal policemen on an anti-drug mission as panicked witnesses dove for cover.
The slain agents had gone to the airport “to detain suspects linked to drug trafficking at Terminal 2,” the federal Public Safety Department said in a statement, without specifying if the suspects also were lawmen. “Upon seeing themselves surrounded by federal police, they (the suspects) opened fire on the officers.”
Two officers died at the scene and another died later of his wounds at a local hospital.
A witness said the shooters were also wearing police uniforms, and the Public Safety Department said it was investigating whether the shooters were active-duty police, former officers or impostors. Criminals in Mexico sometimes wear fake police uniforms, but officials also have repeatedly struggled to crush corruption among law enforcement agencies at the airport, which traffickers have often used as a shipment point for narcotics.
No suspects had been arrested following the shooting, which took place shortly before 9 a.m. (10 a.m. EDT; 1400 GMT).
The shootings occurred around the food court at Terminal 2, near the area where vehicles drop off passengers but well outside the internal security checkpoints where workers and passengers are screened.
Three shots rang out at first, said witness Israel Lopez, a 23-year-old Mexico City student who had gone to the airport to see off a friend. Lopez didn’t see who those shots were directed at, but then the gunfire came closer.
“We were in the food court, and some policemen came in and started shooting at another policeman who was on the floor,” Lopez said.
“We dove to the floor and covered ourselves with chairs,” Lopez said.
Lopez said the shooters wore blue uniforms like those worn by the federal police who provide security at the airport. He said the shooters then ran to the car park area “as if they were pursuing somebody,” and he lost sight of them.
The airport said in a press statement that the terminal and flights were operating normally following what it described as “a dispute in an open-access area.”
Officials have said that Mexico City’s airport is used by traffickers to move drugs, money and illegal migrants. Federal police said they seized 198 pounds (90 kilograms) of cocaine at the airport in 2011 and 440 pounds (200 kilograms).
Guadalupe Perez, 27, went to the airport to interview for a job when she saw the body of one of the officers on the floor. “It scared me a lot to see something like that, a body,” she said.
Robert Gray, an evangelical missionary from Hart, Michigan, arrived at the airport after the shooting with his family to catch a flight.
“It’s surprising to see it happening at the airport. It’s one of the safest places in the city,” Gray said.
Shootings at Mexican airports are rare. In 1993 Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Posadas Ocampo was killed in an airport parking lot in central Mexico. Authorities later said his killers had apparently mistaken his car for that of a rival drug lord.
Top News
Related Photos
-
Federal police officers lift a strip of crime scene barrier tape, as they leaves a marked-off area of the Mexico City's International Airport, where a shooting occurred around the food court at Terminal 2, Monday, June 25, 2012. Men wearing what appeared to be police uniforms opened fire in a food court at Mexico City's international airport on Monday, killing three federal policemen on an anti-drug mission. Two officers died at the scene and another died later of his wounds at a local hospital. The Associated Press
Discussion
3 policemen shot to death at Mexico City airport
-
-
VHS graduation to be broadcast online
Valdosta City Schools along with Valdosta High School will celebrate the academic careers of our students on Friday, May 24, at its annual Commencement Ceremony beginning at 7:00 pm at Valdosta State University's Physical Education Complex.
-
VDT Weekend Update
News Reporter Caitlin Barker speaks to Bernard Bulemu and Eric Mathis, representatives from the South Georgia Regional Library about their summer programs for kids, teens and adults during the month of June, as well as lists fun summer camps taking place in the Valdosta area.
-
Man shot by FBI had ties to Boston bombing suspect
A Chechen immigrant shot to death in Florida after an altercation with an FBI agent implicated himself in a triple slaying that officials believe may have been connected to Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, authorities said.
-
WHO: Scientific red tape mars efforts vs. virus
International efforts to combat a new pneumonia-like virus that has now killed 22 people are being slowed by unclear rules and competition for the potentially profitable rights to disease samples, the head of the World Health Organization warned Thursday.
-
Jurors deadlock on Jodi Arias penalty; retrial set
Jurors who spent five months determining Jodi Arias’ fate couldn’t decide whether she should get life in prison or die for murdering her boyfriend, sending prosecutors back to the drawing board to rehash the shocking case of sex, lies and violence to another 12 people.
-
Lt. Gov. visits Valdosta
Lt. Governor Casey Cagle delivered a message of optimism and preference for prudent investments for Valdosta and Lowndes County Thursday morning, which he is confident will pull Georgia out of recession, build jobs and launch Valdosta into a new business heyday.
-
I-5 bridge collapses in Washington state
An Interstate 5 bridge over a river north of Seattle collapsed Thursday evening, dumping vehicles and people into the water, the Washington State Patrol said.
-
Today in History for Friday, May 24, 2013
Today is Friday, May 24, the 144th day of 2013. There are 221 days left in the year.
-
Parents fuming over locked doors at graduation
Several parents of Spelman College graduates are furious after locked doors prevented them from seeing their children’s commencement.
-
Octogenarians race to be oldest Everest climber
An 80-year-old Japanese extreme skier who climbed Mount Everest five years ago, but just missed becoming the oldest man to reach the summit, is back on the mountain to make another attempt at the title.
- More Top News Headlines
-
VHS graduation to be broadcast online
