Omar González Santiago

Omar González Santiago, 22 years old, was an employee of the Municipality of Tlaxiaco. He was one of 13 protesters who died when police opened fire during a protest against the educational reforms.

In the early hours of Sunday, June 19, the Federal Police arrived at the barricade located on the Nochixtlán Oaxaca highway, which had been maintained by parents and teachers for a week. They attacked first with tear gas, rubber bullets and firearms. Dozens of protesters were arrested or wounded and thirteen were killed,

The villagers managed to force the police back for a few moments when the police released pepper gas, tear gas and rubber bullets. “They are shooting to kill” was the warning cry that was heard when a policeman loaded a cartridge and started firing his gun.

The protesters who were manning the barricade pulled back to the local church where they were fired at for more than an hour.

One woman shouted, shouted: “This is a massacre, they are targeting us with guns, they are killing us”. After almost seven hours of attack, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon the policemen were forced to withdraw by the residents of Nochixtlán, at which time they were able to take the wounded to the hospitals. Previously, the police had kept the roads closed for hours preventing the passage of ambulances.

 

 


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Region:Americas

Country:Mexico

Department/Province/State:Oaxaca

Sex1:Male

Age:22

Date of Killing:19/06/2016

Previous Threats:No information

Type of Work:Student

Organisation:Escuela Normal de Ayotzinapa

Sector or Type of Rights the HRD Worked On:ESC Rights

Sector Detail:Right to Eduction/Student Rights

More information:Front Line Defenders

1This database records an individual's chosen gender identity. If they do not self-identify as male or female they can use the option of recording other/neither or use the term NBGI (non binary gender identity).