At the end of the autopsy of the 17 fatalities of the anti-government protest in JuliacaPuno, the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Public Ministry reported the discovery of firearm projectiles lodged in the bodies of 9 of the 17 victims. The other 8 citizens, who also died from gunshot wounds, were pierced by projectiles.
The 9 people, to whom the specialists of the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML) found the metallic ammunition in their corpses, are:
- Elmer Leonardo Huanca, 16 years old
Elmer Leonardo Huanca was 16 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Jamileth Aroquipa Hancco, 17 years old
Jamileth Aroquipa Hancco was 17 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Paul Mamani Apaza, 18 years old
Paul Mamani Apaza was 18 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Ghiovanny Illanes Ramos, 18 years old
Ghiovanny Illanes Ramos was 18 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Reynaldo Ilaquita Cruz, 18 years old
Reynaldo Ilaquita Cruz was 18 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Edgar Huarancca Choquehuanca, 22 years old
Edgar Huarancca Choquehuanca was 22 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Gabriel Lopez Amanqui, 35 years old
Gabriel López Amanqui was 35 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Marco Samillán Sanga, 30 years old
Marco Samillán Sanga was 30 years old. Photo: diffusion
- Eberth Mamani Arqui, 40 years old.
Eberth Mamani Arqui was 40 years old. Photo: diffusion
The prosecutor assigned to the case, Guido Pilco Delgadohas required a ballistic survey to determine the origin of the projectiles in order to identify the perpetrators of the shots.
The 17 were killed by firearms during the demonstrations on Monday, January 9, when the Police rejected the attempted assault on the Juliaca airport.
According to the information from the autopsy protocols prepared by the IML specialists in order to clarify the homicides, fragments of 7.62 mm rifle projectiles were found in six bodies, in two there were remains of metal pellets and in one what would be a pistol bullet.
Sources of The Republic close to the case indicated that the 7.62 mm. they would correspond to AKM rifles, which are for official use by the National Police of Peru. Videos and photographs confirm that the troops used their long-range rifles to repress the protesters, but not all the victims were part of the anti-government mobilization.
The projectiles of 7.62 mm. were detected in the remains of Edgar Huarancca, Ghiovanny Illanes, Reynaldo Ilaquita, elmer leonardo, paul mamani Y Eberth Mamani. The pistol bullet lodged in the body of jhamileth aroquipa.
elmer leonardo Y Eberth Mamani received blows to the head. While, jhamileth aroquipa he did it in the stomach and Reynaldo Ilaquita in the thorax.
Gabriel Lopez Y Marco Samillan they had metal pellets in their bodies. López in the head and Samillán the chest. For these projectiles to cause death, the victim must be shot at close range, which would apparently be the case for López and Samillán.
The sources consulted indicated that, with respect to the victims in whose bodies no remains of projectiles were found, it was due to the fact that they were shot at close range, so the bullets went through them.
“The projectiles appear to have been fired from AKM rifles, which is the weapon used by the National Police,” said Dany Humpire Molina, former manager of the Public Prosecutor’s Office and a doctor in Criminalistics.
The weapons used appear to be AKM and pistols, no FAL weaponry is seen, which corresponds to the Armed Forces. That is, the weapons belong to the PNP.
“If the bullets were found inside the body, they are classified as penetrating. When the shots are of the penetrating type, as is the case, they are from long distance. And if in the autopsy protocol it is determined that they were from behind, it means that, at the time of the shot, the protesters were running, fleeing ”, explained the specialist, who reviewed the images of the autopsies that this newspaper presented to him.
Humpire also noted that one of the shells is “clad,” meaning it’s new or newly purchased. “The coated projectiles are complex, not every civilian has them. Those are police weapons,” he specified.
Finally, he ruled out that the projectiles are the so-called “Dum Dum”, as has been speculated.
