A model was among two killed when feuding gang members opened fire on a rival cartel at a music festival in Paraguay.
Cristina Aranda, 29, a mother-of-three, and Marcos Rojas, 29, were shot dead when gunmen opened fire at the José Asunción Flores Amphitheater in San Bernardino on Sunday night.
Vita was shot in the head and Rojas was shot at least eight times, according to an autopsy report.
BEFORE THE SHOOTNG: Paraguayan model Cristina Aranda is pictured at the Ja’umina Festival before the shooting broke out
A woman is escorted out of a Paraguayan concert venue after a shooting which left two people dead and four others wounded
Interior Minister Arnaldo Giuzzio told Radio Monumental 1000 AM that the shooting was sparked by a feud between rival gangs.
Paraguayan news outlet ABC reported that Vita attended the second night of the Ja’umina Fest with her former husband, Iván Torres, a soccer star on first division team, Club Olympia.
Paraguay federal prosecutor, Marcelo Pecci, said Monday that the autopsy showed that Vita was struck in the head by a bullet and that her death was caused by a head trauma.
The National Police say that four people were wounded in the attack, including Marcelo Monteggia and José Bogado, who is wanted has been wanted by Brazilian authorities since 2018 on 34 charges tied to drug trafficking and other crimes.
Cristina Aranda, (left) a model and influencer in Paraguay, leaves behind three children. Aranda attended the festival with her former husband, Iván Torres, (right) who plays for first division soccer team. Club Olympia
Cristina Aranda was among two people who were shot dead Sunday following a shootout at a music festival in San Bernandino, Paraguay. Authorities say the shooting incident was sparked by a feud between rival criminal organizations
His strong ties to police and politicians in the region helped him evade capture, Paraguayan newspaper Hoy reported.
Both men were in police custody at a Migone Hospital in Asunción.
Jorge Benítez and Daniela Barrientos, whose husband Víctor Salazar is a teammate of Torres, were also wounded in the shooting. Their injuries are not considered life threatening.
According to ABC, Rojas, Moteggia and Bogado were all seated in the same section where the shooting took place.
Authorities recovered Rojas’ SUV and found two firearm ammunition clips.
Federal prosecutor Federico Delfino said Bogado moved around Paraguay with a fake Brazilian identification card under the name Bogado González.
Concertgoers storm out of the Ja’umina Fest in San Bernandino, Paraguay, after shots were fired
Paramedics rush a shooting victim through the stands at an outdoors concert venue in Paraguay after assailants opened fire and shot six people, including two who died
Delfino said that Monteggia and Bogado reside in the municipality of Pedro Juan Caballero, which borders with Brazil and has been engulfed by a turf war involving criminal groups that operate on both sides of the border.
He confirmed that both men had been staying at separate hotels in San Bernandino but said that it was “strange” that they said that did not know each other.
José Bogado, who is wanted by Brazilian authorities, was shot and taken into custody by cops. Authorities say he is wanted in Brazil, where he is facing 34 charges
Delfino said Bogado, who underwent surgery, would be extradited to Brazil as soon as he is medically cleared.
Colombian vallenato group Binomio de Oro was in the middle of its act when band members noticed the commotion in the crowd and figured that some of the concertgoers were involved in a minor fight.
The group continued to sing before event organizers instructed them to leave the stage.
‘We saw people like pushing each other. It was a very large enclosure. We did not hear any detonation,’ Binomio de Oro singer Israel Romero told ABC. ‘At the end we talked to each other and we thought it was just a fight … People went to have fun and what happened hurts us.’
A witness blamed the shooting on the concert venue’s security system.
“We thought it was fireworks at first,” the concertgoer told ABC. “To enter the concert, they asked you for a vaccination record. My friend did not bring her card, but she still entered. They didn’t search our bag. They didn’t check anything.”
Aranda was rushed to Itauguá National Hospital, where doctors attempted to save her life before she was declared dead.
“She came in very serious,” hospital director Yoland González told Telefuturo. “They tried to revive her for 25 minutes, but unfortunately she never recovered.”
Aranda was married to Torres for 10 years before the former couple divorced in December 2021
Paraguayan model and influencer Cristina Aranda was killed Sunday after she was shot in the head at a concert