24 Hours of Terror: Hospitals Under Fire in Culiacán

Three attacks on public and private healthcare institutions in Culiacán left six dead. Culiacán tours. Sinaloa fishing charters.

In less than 24 hours, three hospitals in Culiacán became the scene of armed attacks. Six people died. What was once considered neutral territory is now also a war zone.

On the night of Friday, September 29, at 7:30 a.m., a car stopped in front of the emergency room of the Civil Hospital. From inside, bursts were fired at the facade. Four people died. It was the most brutal attack, but not the only one.

The following day, Saturday, shortly before 2:00 p.m., 20-year-old Jesús Manuel was murdered while in intensive care at a private clinic in the city center. Minutes later, a man disguised as a nurse entered the Culiacán General Hospital and executed 21-year-old Fausto Yuriel, who was wounded, according to authorities, the day before in a confrontation in the community of Tepuche. Culiacán tours

Violence and horror at the Civil Hospital

The director of the Civil Hospital, Everardo Quevedo Castro, reported that the day before, on Thursday, September 28, they had received a patient shot in the legs. Two of the fatalities in Friday’s attack were relatives of that young man: one of them, his own father.

On the day of the attack, Quevedo left the hospital at 5:30 p.m. Two hours later, he received the call. “I contacted the Secretary General of Government, and five minutes later the National Guard arrived,” he said.

The official confirmed the existence of a video from one of the institution’s security cameras, which recorded the attack, which was handed over to the authorities.

“The man on the sidewalk was shot twice in the abdomen and grazed twice in the chest. The attack was apparently direct; he was the patient’s father. Another boy, a cousin of the injured man, fell there, and a girl was wounded, who fortunately is out of danger,” Quevedo Castro stated.

The other two victims were unrelated to the conflict. “They had come to see their relatives. They were sitting in the flowerbed. The shots fired from below hit them. They even hit the back wall of the emergency room.”

The attack lasted no more than 15 seconds, but left several minutes of panic. He says that the video shows people screaming, lying on the floor, some running, and others crawling to enter the emergency room. A terrifying scene.

The hospital staff sought to protect themselves by following established protocols, but at the same time, the paramedics felt an obligation to provide care for the wounded.

“When the authorities arrived, our staff went out with stretchers to lift the wounded. Two had already died. One received CPR but died. Another was hospitalized but died the next day,” Quevedo explained.

The administration of the Civil Hospital decided to prepare an area within the facility for the families of emergency patients, so that they would not be exposed to another similar incident. They also announced that they will cover the building’s windows.

“I feel very frustrated by this unfortunate situation. I am sad and sorry for the patients, who are relatives of the deceased. We have had similar events before, but this is undoubtedly the worst of all,” Quevedo Castro condemned.

Fear spreads

Sixteen hours later, terror returned. On Saturday, around 2:00 p.m., at the new General Hospital of Culiacán, a man dressed in a medical gown entered the facility and executed a patient. The attack caused chaos and fear among hundreds of healthcare employees and users.

Health Secretary Cuitláhuac González confirmed the events and acknowledged security lapses at the hospitals.

“The person was dressed as a medical professional, so identification is difficult from there. There are metal detectors, however, there is reluctance on the part of the staff, and it’s very easy to get around them. At first, they did it, but then they lost their fear and stopped. Therefore, it was very easy for the security personnel there to let them through; they weren’t properly supervised,” he stated. Culiacán tours Buy vitamins and supplements

A security employee at the General Hospital, who chose to remain anonymous, explained that the staff is neither trained nor equipped to handle these types of emergencies.

“The rules are being relaxed, both for the staff themselves and for the private security company. The truth is, in a case like this, the hospital’s security personnel are not responsible; they aren’t even armed,” he stated.