Christian saw the motorcycle he wanted.
He used, like many, Facebook's
Marketplace
trading platform .
Since the agreement is between private parties, there is no control over what happens and a prison in Los Hornos, La Plata, joined the list of victims.
The meeting point was in San Lorenzo and La Fuente, a few meters from the
Avellaneda cemetery, in Sarandí
.
The man went to the meeting point by car.
He was driving and his 19-year-old son was in the passenger seat.
Upon arriving at the place, the driver got off to meet the motorcycle sellers.
But it was all an ambush.
Christian has been working as a prison guard in Unit No. 36 of Gorina for five years.
And he had gone down
without the service weapon
but he still wanted to resist the robbery.
In the struggle, they hit him
in the head with a rifle butt and shot him
.
The shot wounded him in the pelvis and he ended up lying on the ground.
Scared,
his son took the gun
that his father was hiding under the seat and started shooting.
The three assailants fled the scene.
But, while he was asking for help to save his father, one of the thieves, 16 years old, identified as EB, was injured three blocks away, at the intersection of Suipacha and Helguera.
The teenager, who was shot
in the arm
, was detained and placed at the disposal of the Juvenile Criminal Responsibility Prosecutor's Office No. 7 of Lomas de Zamora.
He was admitted to the Fiorito Hospital in Lanús, under police custody, and waiting to face the accusation.
In principle, he will be charged with
"attempted murder criminis causa"
.
That is, to hide another crime - in this case - theft.
EB would not have a criminal record and since he was a minor under 18 years of age, they did not provide information about his history.
There are two fugitives who are being intensively searched.
Facebook Marketplace, the virtual fair that brings together entrepreneurs and scammers
Meanwhile, the victim, identified by Justice as Christian Volpe, was admitted to the Perón Hospital waiting to be referred by social work to a health center.
While he was not life-threatening,
the injury fractured his pelvis
and it is unclear if he required surgery.
The robbery victim's service weapon, a
Bersa 9 millimeter pistol
, was seized inside the Chevrolet Corsa and was being examined to corroborate the father and son's version.
Marketplace and potential dangers
Facebook Marketplace is the alternative buying/selling service to Mercado Libre.
However, due to the repeated incidents of insecurity linked to transactions carried out by the platform,
its security is highly questioned
.
The company makes the excuse that they do not charge a commission and that it allows direct private exchange between people.
It was created as an alternative to remove commercial ads from private profiles.
It has been operating in Argentina since 2018
and quickly became popular, as did
virtual scams and thefts
.
To use Marketplace, users have to create a listing with
a photo, description, and a price
.
Potential clients can communicate with buyers and coordinate details outside of the platform.
Facebook has
3 billion
monthly active users worldwide.
Specialists give some security tips to avoid ambushes and virtual scams, but many members of the security forces end up tempted by low costs and interesting offers, trusted by their handling of weapons and carrying the regulations.
A fake police officer sold stolen cars from the Olmos prison and published them on Marketplace.
Inspecting the profiles and establishing a public place as a meeting point, well lit and, if possible, during the day, are some of the recommendations.
Criminals offer everything: weapons, cars, motorcycles, bicycles and stolen cell phones proliferate alongside real entrepreneurs and sellers.
Background
On February 5, a young man agreed to buy a motorcycle in Mendoza, but upon arriving at the place he was assaulted by at least two criminals who stole more than 2 million pesos from him in Godoy Cruz, Mendoza.
He had bought a Honda Titan CG 150
motorcycle
and ended up robbed.
In January, in Martín Fierro and Sevilla, Wilde, Pablo Adrián Correa had agreed to purchase a motorcycle through Marketplace.
When he arrived, they ambushed him and stole the
three thousand dollars
he was carrying for the transaction.
The man tried to resist but was killed.
MG