Alexander Martínez Gómez’s family and friends play music at his graveside during his funeral in Acatlán de Pérez Figueroa, Mexico, Thursday, June 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Félix Márquez)
MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican judge on Saturday ordered a police officer who fatally shot a 16-year-old Mexican-American boy to be held in preventive detention while he is investigated for alleged murder.
The boy, Alexander Martínez Gómez, was shot in the head by a police officer in southern Mexico Tuesday night. Born in North Carolina, he had been living with his mother in Acatlán de Pérez Figueroa, a town in Oaxaca state, and was out with friends on motorcycles at the time of the shooting.
The police officer was in a patrol driving with its vehicle lights off when it blocked the way of the boy and eight other youths, according to prosecutors. The officer then got out with a shotgun and opened fire, they said.
Another boy whose motorcycle skidded during the incident was hospitalized in stable condition.
Alexander Martínez Gómez”s friends carry signs that read in Spanish “Justice for Alexander” during his funeral in Acatlán de Pérez Figueroa, Mexico, Thursday, June 11, 2020. (AP Photo / Félix Márquez)
Relatives have met with representatives of the state government, which has promised the killing will not go unpunished.
The town government of Acatlán de Pérez Figueroa earlier said a police officer was involved in the shooting, but that it hadn’t been “in bad faith.”
Alexander… su último gol ?pic.twitter.com/EJ17WI9wr6
— Ruido en la Red (@RuidoEnLaRed) June 12, 2020
Some other officers in the department were already under investigation over allegations of excessive use of force and even extrajudicial killings related to a shootout in mid-May in which six alleged criminals died. After that incident, more state and federal forces were sent to secure the area.
