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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.
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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.