Reynosa officials urge people to stay indoors after grenade attack near police station
REYNOSA — Reynosa authorities urged residents to stay home after reports of violence across the city Thursday night, including what one police officer described as a grenade attack near the municipal police station.
The city began posting alerts about 9:30 p.m. via Twitter about “situations of risk” along Miguel Alemán Boulevard and in the Narciso Mendoza and Canada neighborhoods on the city’s west side.
Minutes later, officials informed residents that an explosion had occurred in the Canada neighborhood and told people to avoid the area. The city later announced via Twitter that there had been an attack on the municipal police station on Morelos Boulevard. Officials also announced a situation of risk in the Pedro J. Mendez subdivision.
By 10:20 p.m., city officials asked people to seek shelter and avoid going outdoors.
Reynosa police Officer Julio Cavazos said a grenade landed near the municipal police station in the Rodriguez neighborhood but caused little to no damage to the building itself. No injuries were reported during the attack.
“We’re all fine,” Cavazos said hastily in Spanish. “It didn’t hit us.”
Shortly after 11 p.m., Tamaulipas officials separately confirmed on the state’s emergency notification website that police facilities were attacked in the Canada, Pedro J. Mendez and Rodriguez neighborhoods. No injuries were reported in those incidents, which remain under investigation by federal authorities.
Reynosa had remained relatively calm until Thursday’s attack, according to city officials. No violence-related fatalities have been reported since April 2, when a prison break left three inmates dead and a gunfight killed five on the city’s southwest side.
On Wednesday, Tamaulipas state police found a corpse in the border city of Miguel Alemán, located across the Rio Grande from Roma.
A travel warning for Mexico that the U.S. Consulate in Monterrey first issued last month remains in effect until May 12.
An estimated total of more than 22,000 people have been killed in Mexico's drug war since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderón launched a military crackdown on drug cartels.
The U.S. Consulate in Monterrey issued a warning Wednesday in response to the kidnapping of at least six people from two downtown hotels in that city during an early-morning attack.
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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.
