Pubdate: Sat, 12 Jun 2010 Source: El Paso Times (TX) Copyright: 2010 El Paso Times Contact: http://www.elpasotimes.com/townhall/ci_14227323 Website: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/829 Author: Aileen B. Flores 19 DIE IN ATTACK AT REHABILITATION CENTER More than 25 gunmen with high-powered weapons burst into a drug rehabilitation center late Thursday in Chihuahua City and killed 19 men, an act that was described by officials on Friday as the worst in the city's history. In Juarez, three municipal police officers were killed Thursday in two attacks. Carlos Gonzalez, a spokesman for the Chihuahua attorney general's office, said witnesses reported that at least 25 men armed with R-15 and AK-47 rifles walked into the two-story building and methodically opened fired. Nineteen men were killed, two were wounded and six were not injured, Gonzalez said. "This is an unprecedented event in the state capital. This is the first time an attack of this nature has happened in Chihuahua City," Gonzalez said. Gonzalez said the attack might have been a settling of affairs between members of the Mexicles and Azteca gangs. He did not specify which gang the victims belonged to. Fifteen bodies were found on the first story, and two men were found lying on the floor with several gunshot wounds next to four dead men on the second story. The two wounded men were taken to a hospital, police said. Most of the victims ranged in age from 23 to 65, Gonzalez said. One of the dead was 16-year-old boy. The Associated Press reported that among the victims was Jose Luis "El Cabal" Zamaron Barraza, 40, a heroin addict who arrived home a year ago from the U.S. According to investigators, the attacking gunmen used nine high-powered weapons. At the scene, investigators recovered more than 200 bullet casings and four messages written on cardboard the attackers left behind. Officials did not reveal what was written because of the investigation. Gonzalez said the rehabilitation center remained closed on Friday. Officials of the Coordinated Operation Chihuahua, a partnership among federal, state and municipal authorities, said they will take over the investigation and will use the evidence found at the scene to solve the crime. About 30 people have died in attacks at rehabilitation centers in Juarez since the drug violence erupted in Chihuahua state, and more than 60 people have died in multiple shootings at rehabilitation clinics in Mexico in a little less than two years. In September, 19 people were killed and six others wounded when gunmen entered into El Aliviane center drug rehabilitation center in Juarez. Two weeks later, another attack at Anexo de Vida center killed nine men and a woman. On Wednesday, one man was killed and another was wounded at a rehabilitation center in Juarez. Mexican authorities have said drug cartels in Mexico use the rehabilitation centers to recruit hit men and drug smugglers, often threatening to kill those who don't cooperate. Others are killed for failing to pay for drugs or ripping off a dealer. Gunmen also killed three police officers Thursday in Juarez, said Chihuahua state police. Officer Julian Armando Medina Villagran, 34, was found dead just before 5 p.m. in a white pick up at the intersection of Ponciano Arriaga and Eje Vial Juan Gabriel streets. Officers Sergio Jimenez Buenrostro and Jose Solis Sifuentes, both, 37, were shot and killed two hours later in the Jasso subdivision. Police found 140 bullet casings at the scene, police said. In another earlier development, authorities in late May found 55 bodies in an abandoned silver mine in Guerrero state, presumably victims of the country's drug violence. About 23,000 people have been killed in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon took office in late 2006 and began a war against drug cartels. About 5,300 people have been killed in Juarez since the beginning of 2008. - --- The Associated Press contributed to this report. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom