Neighbors of Barrio Norte are going through weeks of growing anxiety after a series of criminal and vandalistic events that occurred within a very limited block radius. Last month, the region became the scene of violent events that revealed the increasing cases of security chaos that frighten the front lines.
This morning, at the corner of 1st and 37th, a man was the victim of a brutal attack by motorcycle planes that quickly fled onto 37th Street. The victim had no time to react or avoid the attack and was unable to stop the speedy escape of the robbers.
In recent days, new attacks have been recorded, allegedly committed by the same motorcyclists who were reported a few days ago for dragging a young woman to steal her property. According to what was reported by these media outlets a few days ago, the same attackers reappeared again, and this time they attacked a girl in a cafeteria located less than two blocks from the second police station, in an incident that renewed the neighborhood’s discontent.
This incident is in addition to another that occurred on Saturday, also in Barrio Norte, when a young woman was dragged to the ground and severely beaten by two criminals riding a motorcycle. The violence, which occurred a few blocks from Plaza El Siena, caused strong repercussions and prompted the Front to demand a greater police presence in the area.
The escalation of events is not limited to explosions in the streets. On October 16, an armed man stormed into a pizzeria located on 38th Avenue between Second and Third Avenues and caused panic among customers. According to eyewitnesses, the criminal entered with a firearm, threatened the employees and the rest of those present, and then fled with the proceeds of the building. The incident, which occurred during a busy period, revealed the vulnerability of businesses in the area.
Days later, in the early morning of October 22, the calm was broken again when a group of unidentified people set fire to a garbage container in the same building.
The repeated criminal acts caused dissatisfaction with neighbors, who said that patrol cars moved through the neighborhood intermittently, and that some buildings were poorly lit. Others claim that many merchants modified store closures for fear of new robberies.
Despite complaints lodged at various police stations and repeated complaints in the neighbourhoods, no arrests linked to the attacks have been reported so far. Local authorities indicated that images taken by municipal security cameras were being analyzed and that they would strengthen preventive operations.
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