Peru’s government is putting an extra 1,000 police officers on the streets of Lima starting Monday following two highly-publicized murders last week.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that it will put a additional 300 police patrols in Lima, in an attempt to address a growing sense of insecurity among many residents in the Peruvian capital.
The measures follow the murder of a well-known photojournalist from Peru’s biggest daily, El Comercio. Luis Choy, a single father in his thirties, was shot to death outside his home in the middle class district of Pueblo Libre. The attack occurred in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday.
Police have not confirmed the motive, however it appears that the assailants were not thieves as they did not take any goods.
President Ollanta Humala said that the government is putting pressure on the police for a quick arrest in Choy’s murder. “We have demanded results from the police,” Humala said.
“I knew Luis Choy during the campaign,” Humala added, referring to his 2011 run for office. “We send our deepest sympathy to his family.”
Choy’s murder came just a few days after another bold attack. On Wednesday, a man was killed in a notary public’s office by masked assailants. Three men stormed the notary’s office where they had followed a man who had just withdrawn 260,000 soles ($100,700) in cash. One of the men finalizing a transaction for the sale of house was killed in the attack.
A video of attack, recorded by security cameras, shows a violent, but well-orchestrated assault. The criminals were in-and-out of the office in about 25 seconds.
