Colegio Cervantes shooting

On January 10, 2020, an 11-year-old student identified as "José Ángel Ramos Bells", armed with two guns, opened fire at the facilities of Colegio Cervantes Campus Bosque, a private school in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico, killing a teacher and wounding teachers and classmates. The assailant wore a white T-shirt that read "Natural selection" and pants with black suspenders, which were reported as referring to Eric Harris, one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre, who wore similar clothing during the 1999 massacre.[3][4]

Colegio Cervantes shooting
LocationTorreón, Coahuila, Mexico
DateJanuary 10, 2020 (2020-01-10)
c. 08:40 a.m. (CST)
Attack type
Mass shooting, murder-suicide, school shooting
Weapons
Deaths2 (including the perpetrator)
Injured6
PerpetratorJosé Ángel Ramos Bells[1][2]

Events

At 8:00 a.m. on January 10, 2020, a student of the Colegio Miguel de Cervantes arrived at the institution with two weapons in his backpack, an automatic .40 caliber and another .22 caliber, both owned by his grandfather.[5][6] At 8:20 a.m., he asked his teacher, for permission to go to the bathroom.[6] About 15 minutes later, after noticing that he was taking too long, she went to look for him.[6] Around 8:40 a.m., he left the bathroom having changed clothes and armed with the two guns, then, his english teacher, María Assaf Medina, was arriving there and asked him to stop shooting. Media outlets stated that he attacked while dressed in white T-shirt, suspenders and black pants, clothes similar to those worn by Eric Harris, one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.[3][7] Before firing, he said "Hoy va a ser el día" ("Today is going to be the day").[6][8][9] He started firing against the physical education teacher and five other classmates, injuring all of them.[6] He then shot María Assaf Medina, who died instantly,[6] before committing suicide at around 8:43 a.m.[6][8]

When they heard the shots, teachers from other classrooms asked their students to take shelter.[10] After the shooting, the authorities cordoned off the area and initiated investigations.[4] Witnesses stated that the child was a student of academic excellence and no previous problems had been reported with him.[4]

Reactions

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador lamented the event and gave his condolences to the families of the victims, urging the strengthening of school safety and the "Mochila segura" ("Safe Backpack") program while insisting that reenforcing family values is more important.[11] The "Mochila segura" program is an operation consisting of reviewing the students' backpacks at the entrance of schools in order to detect the entry of weapons and drugs to the facilities.[12][13] López Obrador's wife Beatriz Gutiérrez Müller also lamented the shooting and stated that the review of backpacks and childhood behavior should start at home.[14]

The Governor of Coahuila Miguel Ángel Riquelme Solís said that after the shooting the Safe Backpack program would be mandatory in all private schools in the state.[15] In regards of the shooter wearing a T-shirt that read "Natural selection", Governor Riquelme Solís stated in a press conference that it was believed to be due to the influence of the video game Natural Selection.[16][17] After the theory that the shooting could have been committed because of a video game was roundly rejected by experts such as Andrew Przybylsi of Oxford Internet Institute, Feggy Ostrosky Shejet of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM),[18] Ernesto Piedras of The Competitive Intelligence Unit, and Erik Salazar of College of Psychology of UNAM,[19] and several media reports noted that the phrase "Natural selection" was more likely to be a reference to the Columbine High School massacre,[3][20] the governor retracted his initial version.[21]

The Secretary of the Interior Olga Sánchez Cordero called on the social networks Facebook and Twitter to remove the images of the shooting that circulated in them.[22]

Perpetrator

Once Governor Miguel Riquelme Solís's theory that the 11-year-old had committed the shooting because of a video game was rejected, investigators looked at the shooter's background and environment.[23]

The boy's mother died in an operation a few years earlier[24] and his 37-year-old father was not present, so the child lived with paternal grandparents. His father had spent time in prison for trafficking methamphetamine in El Paso, Texas,[25] but had recently been released; the grandfather's bank account was frozen because of "irregular money transfers" involving millions of dollars between the two men.[23] The 58-year-old grandfather, José Ángel Ramos Saucedo, also had a record of drug trafficking.[25] He had also owned six luxury vehicles in two years; one grandmother had owned three luxury vehicles and was also involved in large money transfers.[26] The eleven year old's maternal grandmother had been murdered.[24]

The Coahuila prosecutor's office found the grandfather's cell phone, and conversations on WhatsApp published by El Zócalo de Saltillo reveal that the man's daughter wrote, "¿Por qué se la diste, papá, ves lo que pasa? Cuando lo vi no me sorprendí, sabía que fuiste tú quien se la dio" ("Why did you give it to him, Dad, do you see what happens? When I saw him I was not surprised, I knew it was you who gave it to him."), to which the man replied, "No podía detenerlo, fue su voluntad" ("I couldn't stop it, it was his desire.")[24] The grandfather has been arrested and charged with homicide by neglect in leaving his guns where a child could access them; he may be charged with money laundering and tax evasion.[27]

Aftermath

Since the shooting, Colegio Cervantes has renewed classes with greatly increased security measures.[24] The Coahuila state office of the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) has promised to renew the books used for teaching civics and ethics in the 2020-2021 school year.[27] Rodolfo González Valderrama, director of Radio, Television, and Cinematography (RTC) in Tamaulipas says the state will regulate and perhaps remove some videogames. Classification will be the same as for movies: AA (children), A (family), B (minors under 18), B15 (teens), C (adults), and D (extreme).[28]

School safety debate

Operativo Mochila ("Backpack Operation"), a program to prevent the introduction of weapons, drugs, and other dangerous objects into schools, dates back at least to 2001;[29][30] the shooting in Torreon has reactivated the debate.[12][31][32] Educational authorities and teachers generally school screenings (generally by parent groups),[32] while human rights advocates oppose it.[29][32][33] Parents at the Colegio Cervantes had expressed opposition to the program in October 2019.[34]

Critics of "Operation Backpack" such as Laura Bárcenas Pozos of the Universidad Iberoamericana Puebla emphasize that school authorities must reinforce the psychosocial area of schools, learn to listen, generate spaces for dialogue, and include parents in the development of their children. In an interview with El Sol de Puebla, Bárcenas Pozos declared, "Creo que antes de analizar la Operación Mochila, deberían aterrizar en las escuelas la cultura de la paz." ("I think that before analyzing Operation Backpack, a culture of peace should be established in schools").[35]

On January 9, 2020, one day before the shooting in Torreón, the Supreme Court of Mexico announced they would review the 2017 injunction against the Safe Backpack program in Mexico City. At the time, parents argued that children were frightened by the presence of police officers in their schools and that the program violated the right to privacy guaranteed by Article 14 of the Constitution of Mexico.[31][36]

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See also

References
  1. "Presidencia pide no dar nombres de las víctimas en Torreón" [Presidency asks not to give names of victims in Torreón]. Sin Embargo (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  2. "Las armas del niño eran del abuelo: Fiscal de Coahuila; la SEP pide a los padres revisar mochilas" [Boy's weapons were from grandfather: Coahuila Prosecutor; SEP asks parents to check backpacks]. Sin Embargo (in Spanish). January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  3. "Niño del Colegio Cervantes iba vestido como asesino de Columbine" [Colegio Cervantes boy was dressed as a Columbine killer]. El Universal (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  4. Salinas, Carlos (January 10, 2020). "Un alumno de 11 años mata a tiros a una profesora y deja seis heridos en un colegio de México" [An 11-year-old student shoots a teacher and leaves six injured at a school in Mexico]. El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  5. "Armas que usó niño en tiroteo de Torreón eran del abuelo, revela el gobernador Riquelme" [Weapons used by boy in Torreón shooting were from grandfather, Governor Riquelme reveals]. Reporte Índigo (in Spanish). Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  6. "Reconstrucción por minuto del tiroteo en Colegio Cervantes de Torreón" [Reconstruction per minute of the shooting at Colegio Cervantes in Torreón]. El Universal (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  7. "Tragedia en colegio de Torreón, con similitudes a caso en EUA" [Tragedy in Torreón school, with similarities to case in the US]. El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  8. ""Hoy va a ser el día", dijo niño autor de tiroteo en Torreón" ["Today is going to be the day," said child author of shooting in Torreón]. El Universal (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  9. ""Hoy va a ser el día", advirtió niño agresor" ["Today is going to be the day," warned child aggressor]. Excélsior (in Spanish). January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  10. "Tragedia en colegio generó psicosis entre padres de familia de Torreón" [Tragedy in school generated psychosis among parents of Torreón]. El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  11. "AMLO lamenta tiroteo en Torreón y pide no abandonar a los hijos" [AMLO laments shooting in Torreón and asks not to abandon the children]. Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  12. "Operativo Mochila Segura, una medida vs violencia y drogadicción" [Operation Safe Backpack, a measure vs. violence and drug addiction]. Excélsior (in Spanish). January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  13. "Mochila segura: ¿revisar a los alumnos previene la violencia?" [Safe Backpack: Does checking students prevent violence?]. Animal Político (in Spanish). January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  14. "Mochila Segura desde casa, no hasta la escuela, pide Gutiérrez Müller" [Safe Backpack from home, not to school, asks Gutierrez Müller]. El Universal (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  15. "Tras tiroteo en Colegio Cervantes operativo mochila será obligatorio" [After shooting at Colegio Cervantes backpack operation will be mandatory]. Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  16. "Videojuego pudo haber influenciado a niño para iniciar tiroteo en colegio Cervantes: gobernador" [Video game may have influenced child to start shooting at Cervantes school: governor]. Radio Fórmula (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  17. "Videojuego pudo haber influenciado niño del tiroteo en Torreón" [Video game may have influenced child of the shooting in Torreón]. El Universal (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  18. "¿Los videojuegos fomentan la violencia? Qué dicen los expertos" [Do video games encourage violence? What the experts say]. El Universal Techbit (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  19. "¿Los videojuegos generan violencia? Esto dicen los expertos" [Do video games generate violence? This is what experts say]. Dinero en Imagen (in Spanish). January 13, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  20. "Videojuego de Natural Selection no tendría nada que ver con ataque en colegio de Torreón" [Natural Selection video game may have nothing to do with attack in Torreón school]. El Siglo de Torreón (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  21. "Alumno mata a maestra y se suicida; reportan 5 lesionados más por tiroteo en colegio de Torreón" [Student kills teacher and commits suicide; 5 more injured reported by school shooting in Torreón]. Xeu (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  22. "Segob pide a Twitter y Facebook frenar imágenes de tiroteo en Torreón" [Segob asks Twitter and Facebook to stop images of shooting in Torreón]. Milenio (in Spanish). Retrieved January 11, 2020.
  23. "México: continúan las investigaciones a la familia del niño autor del tiroteo en Torreón" [Mexico: investigations continue on the family of the child who was the author of the shooting in Torreón]. France24 (in Spanish). Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  24. "Difunden chats de abuelo de niño de Torreón: "sabía" del tiroteo y le dio las armas" [Torreón's boy's grandfather's chats published: He "knew" about the shooting and gave him the weapons]. Diario de Yucatan (in Spanish). January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  25. "Así era la vida de niño que mató a maestra en colegio de Torreón" [This was the life of a boy who killed a teacher in Torreón school]. UNO TV (in Spanish). January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  26. "Revelan entorno familiar de niño que disparó en colegio Cervantes" [Family environment of boy who shot at Cervantes school revealed]. Forbes Mexico (in Spanish). January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  27. "'Ya valió madre, la mató con mi arma'; hunden conversaciones al abuelo de José Ángel" [‘It has gone to hell, he killed her with my gun’; conversations incriminate José Ángel's grandfather]. Zócalo (in Spanish). January 15, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  28. Reglamentarán videojuegos tras tragedia en Torreón Vanguardia.com.mx, 19 Jan 2020
  29. "Boletín 003_Respecto al Operativo Mochila en el Estado" [Bulletin 003 in respect to the Backpack Operation in the State]. Comisión de Derechos Humanos Estado de Hidalgo (in Spanish). Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  30. "'Mochila segura' viola derechos, pero opera desde 2001 hasta con policías y detector de metales" ['Safe backpack' violates rights, but has operated since 2001 even with police and metal detectors]. Animal Político (in Spanish). January 11, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  31. "Tiroteo en escuela en Torreón reaviva el polémico operativo Mochila Segura" [School shooting in Torreón revives the controversial Safe Backpack operation]. Debate (in Spanish). January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  32. "En Debate: Operativo Mochila Segura" [Debate: Safe Backpack Operation]. El Sol de México (in Spanish). January 17, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  33. "Dirige CNDH Recomendación a la SEP por el Operativo Mochila Segura; le pide determinar la procedencia que continúe y, en su caso, se aplique no como una medida de seguridad, sino de protección y de cuidado, con enfoque de derechos humanos y que privilegie" [Directs CNDH Recommendation to the SEP for the Safe Backpack Operative; asks it to determine the provenance to continue and, where appropriate, be applied not as a security measure, but of protection and care, with a human rights approach that privileges]. CNDH Mexico (in Spanish). August 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  34. "Padres de familia del Colegio Cervantes se opusieron al operativo Mochila Segura: FOTO" [Parents of Colegio Cervantes opposed Operation Safe Backpack: PHOTO]. El Heraldo de México (in Spanish). January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  35. "Insuficiente operativo mochila para inhibir hechos violentos en escuelas: especialista" [Insufficient operational backpack to inhibit violent events in schools: specialist]. El Sol de Puebla (in Spanish). January 19, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  36. "Operativo 'Mochila Segura': ¿es legal?, la Corte lo analizará" [Operation ‘Safe Backpack’: is it legal? The Court will analyze it]. El Horizonte (in Spanish). 7 November 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
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