Gabriel, the brave young man who resisted a robbery at the Edomex and was shot by criminals

The cameras of a public transport van in the State of Mexico recorded the last minutes of Gabriel, a young man who bravely wanted to resist an armed assault but his attempt was in vain: he was shot twice by one of the criminals in the stomach and chest and was injured in the unit. He was transferred to the General Hospital of ISSSTE in Zaragoza and the next day he died from the wounds he received.

The victim, aged 18, had gone to the municipality of Valle de Chalco Solidaridad to visit a friend and was returning home when there was the violent assault inside a combi traveling on the Mexico-Puebla highway, on the boundaries of the municipality of La Paz and the Iztapalapa mayor's office.

According to what the images show, the events occurred at 20:18 hours, at kilometer 18+300, near the stop known as La Virgen, when three subjects boarded as if they were passengers. Seconds later, one of them drew a handgun, while the other two set out to strip wallets and cell phones.

But Gabriel resisted the robbery and confronted the criminals, causing the armed thug to detonate the gun on at least three occasions; one of these bullets hit the face of one of the users who was glued to the side of the door.

In the midst of the chaos and confusion caused by the shooting, coupled with the cries of terror of a woman who tried to protect two young girls, the criminals managed to beat and shoot the passenger who started the struggle, who was injured on the ground. However, the combi never stopped its march, so the criminal threatened the driver with a “Let me down, I'll kill you!”

The driver ignored it and it was then that the three assailants, already with the mutiny in hand, decided to jump from the moving unit onto the asphalt tape, at a considerable speed. Another video that was released hours later showed Gabriel semiconscious and lying on the floor of the van, where one of the passengers held him while the rest asked him not to sleep. “No, don't fall asleep”, several people are heard on the recording.

Gabriel was described by his relatives as a football fan, he liked to play in the position of goalkeeper and striker. He was a fan of the Pachuca Football Club and wanted to graduate from a degree in Computer Science. His death occurred at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 20 due to complications in the intestine, kidney, lung and heart.

It transpired that one of the criminals who jumped onto the roofing belt was hit by one or several cars, resulting in death. Another, 21 years old, was seriously injured, so he was taken to a hospital, where he later died. While the third one managed to be apprehended with a broken arm.

The man who was shot in the face continues to be hospitalized at La Perla Nezahualcoyotl General Hospital, as the bullet is still lodged in the jaw. The Office of the Attorney General of Justice of the State of Mexico (FGEJM) integrated the investigation folder for the crime of robbery on public transport, but once it became known about the death of one of the victims, the crime of robbery was reclassified with the aggravating factor of causing death.