Journalist Shot and Killed Just Moments Before Going Live to Report on Discovery of Human Remains

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El Salmantino reporter Israel Vázquez Rangel was shot minutes before going live on air while covering the discovery of “human remains” in Salamanca, Mexico.

The shooting took place as Vázquez was investigating reports of human remains found in a plastic bag. He arrived on scene before the authorities. As he was preparing to go live with a report, a vehicle with unidentified armed assailants reportedly sped up and opened fire, shooting the journalist at least five times according to witnesses. He died in the hospital a few hours later.

In a statement, El Salmantino revealed, “Today our colleague, Israel Vázquez, while working as a reporter, was the target of a vile and cowardly attack that took his life.”

“All of us who work at El Salmantino condemn not just this one attack, but all of those that occur daily in the city of Salamanca,” the company continued.

Reporters Without Borders tweeted that Vázquez is the ninth Mexican journalist killed in the country this year.

Guanajuato Governor Diego Sinhue Rodríguez Vallejo condemned the killing on Twitter, tweeting, “I regret and condemn the death of reporter Israel Vázquez Rangel in #Salamanca.”

“We are in contact with the State Council for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Journalists, and I have also given instructions so that the family receives all the necessary support and protection,” he wrote.

According to CNN, Vázquez “is the third journalist killed in Mexico in less than a month, according to the Committee to Protect of Journalists (CPJ),” while nine journalists “have been killed in Mexico so far this year.”

“Last year, CPJ reported that 11 journalists were killed in Mexico, the highest worldwide, outpacing war-ravaged Syria, where seven journalists were murdered in 2019,” CNN added.