08 December 2007
Gerardo Israel Garcia Pimentel
Shooting
Reporter Gerardo Israel Garcia Pimentel was assassinated on Saturday as he was entering the hotel where he lived in Uruapan, the second largest city in the central state of Michoacan.
The Committee to Protect Journalists is investigating possible links between García's death and his work as a journalist. On Saturday afternoon, unidentified individuals chased García on his motorcycle through Uruapan, according local press reports.
Garcia sought refuge at the Hotel Ruan. As he entered the hotel, two gunmen shot him at close range at least 20 times, police told local reporters on Saturday evening. Police added that some 50 shell casings, nearly all from AR-15 semiautomatic rifles, were found at the scene. Michoacán state police have yet to announce possible motives for the murder. Calls to the federal special prosecutor for crimes against journalists were not immediately returned.
Garcia, 28, worked for five years as a reporter for La Opinion de Michoacán, the largest daily newspaper in Uruapan. He covered agriculture and sometimes stepped in to report on crime, Garcia's colleagues told CPJ. Reporters at other newspapers in Michoacan told CPJ that Garcia was considered a low-key reporter, not likely to aggressively pursue sensitive stories or those related to organized crime.
