Family calls for end to violence in Mexico after Rockford, Illinois man was killed
WAUKEGAN, Ill. (CBS) -- The family of a Rockford man killed in Mexico is calling on that country's president to stop the violence.
Jesus Macias, 62, was shot and killed on Monday of last week while traveling with his mother, wife, and child. Activists said he was gunned down after he failed to stop and illegal checkpoint set up by criminal cartel members near Villanueva in the Mexican state of Zacatecas, while the group was on the way to buy a new stove for his mother.
Activists said Macias was not sure of the armed gunmen's intentions and feared for his family's safety, so he did not stop. He was then pursued, forced out of his vehicle, and killed in front of his family, activists said.
The family said Mexican President Claudia Scheinbaum promised a security plan when she took office last year, but failed to protect Macias.
This was the second shooting in Mexico involving Northern Illinois families in just a matter of days.
The Friday after Christmas, a 14-year-old boy from Chicago was critically wounded in an area that has seen a surge in gang-related crime. The boy's father, 38-year-old Vicente Peña Jr., and uncle, 44-year-old Antonio Fernandez, were killed in the shooting.
