A Brazilian citizen was shot dead on Tuesday afternoon in Pedro Juan Caballero, the capital of Amambay department. The victim, identified as João Morel, 42, was intercepted by a group of hitmen traveling in a silver Toyota Premio in the María Victoria neighborhood.
According to police, the shooters fired several shots at the Fiat Toro pickup truck Morel was driving. Despite his injuries, the Brazilian managed to drive a few blocks to meet his wife, who took him to the Regional Hospital of Pedro Juan Caballero. Morel succumbed to his injuries and died minutes after arriving at the hospital.
Police do not rule out the possibility of mistaken identity, possibly related to the model of the vehicle the victim was driving. Morel owned a body shop and paint workshop in the region.
In another incident, agents from the Lince Group recovered a stolen motorcycle in Luque after GPS tracking. The operation took place around 5:45 a.m. in an area known as Villa 24. Police were alerted by the tracking company and, following real-time coordinates, located the vehicle on an abandoned lot. At the scene, Juan Andrés Godoy Talavera (27), Gustavo Chamorro González (38), Ignacio Benjamín Ruiz (23), and María de los Ángeles Franco López (32) were taken into custody. The motorcycle was seized and is in the custody of the 46th Police Station.
In Lambaré, two 16-year-old teenagers were detained after attempting to rob a ride-hailing driver. The victim, Nicolasa Patricia Santacruz Ayala, reported that the youths threatened her with a firearm after a trip that began near the Lambaré District Hospital. One of the teenagers pulled out a pistol and demanded she get out of the car. The driver said the vehicle had a GPS tracker, which made the assailants give up and flee. Police located the suspects a few blocks from the scene and seized an air pistol used in the crime.