Attack on Lionel Messi's family supermarket in Rosario
They left a message mentioning the football player: "Messi, we are waiting for you"
Two men shot at the front of a supermarket belonging to Lionel Messi's in-laws in the city of Rosario and left a written message mentioning the captain of the Argentine national team, informed the mayor of the city, Pablo Javkin.
"Messi, we are waiting for you. Javkin is a narc, he won't protect you", reads the handwritten message on a paper left by the attackers after shooting at the closed store facade.
The message refers to the mayor of Rosario, Pablo Javkin, who went to the scene. According to the initial investigations, a total of 14 shots were fired, mostly hitting the metal shutter of the supermarket.
"This has been happening for quite some time," said Javkin. "We have five security forces operating in Rosario and yet they can do this because no one pursues them," he complained, considering that the incident "seeks to create chaos in the city."
"What they are looking for here is publicity, it's very obvious, what news spreads faster worldwide than attacking Messi?" he wondered.
The mayor confirmed that the supermarket belongs to the Roccuzzo family, Messi's in-laws and relatives of the French Paris Saint Germain (PSG) star.
"This has to be a breaking point, let's not allow Rosario to be tarnished so easily," he said, calling for greater action from security forces.
Meanwhile, the deputy chief of the Regional Unit 2 of the Rosario police, Iván González, considered that the note "is not a threat" but rather an act "to draw attention."
The police chief confirmed to Cadena 3 radio that "no one was injured because the store was unoccupied at the time."
The incident occurred early on Thursday and was perpetrated by two individuals who arrived at the scene on a motorcycle, according to a security camera video released by the Police. The attack was also witnessed by a bystander who confirmed the events.
It is a branch of the Único supermarket chain located in a populous neighborhood of Rosario, the hometown of Messi and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, situated 320 km north of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.
Rosario has been plagued for years by criminal gangs associated with drug trafficking, a problem that has been addressed by the authorities in different ways.
The attack occurred days after a meeting of the heads of all security forces together with Javkin, the governor of Santa Fe, Omar Perotti, and representatives of the federal government to outline new strategies aimed at reducing crime in Rosario. AFP