MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay reels from rare quintuple homicide as five relatives shot dead in Montevideo

The victims were linked to “Los Suárez,” a criminal group that operated in the Villa Española neighborhood and had moved to the area amid disputes over drug sales

Five members of the same family, including a 14-year-old girl, were killed on Friday in a shooting in the El Monarca neighborhood, on the northeastern outskirts of Montevideo, in an attack that authorities link to violence between criminal groups and that has no recent precedent in Uruguay.

The attack took place around 7:30 a.m. at a home located at kilometer 21 of Route 8, near the border with the department of Canelones. According to neighbors quoted by local media, four attackers arrived on two motorcycles, wearing helmets and carrying long guns; three of them climbed over the wall and entered the house shouting “Police!” before opening fire. Four people died at the scene, and the teenager, critically wounded, died hours later after being taken to a hospital. No arrests have been made so far.

According to police sources cited by Uruguayan media, the victims were linked to “Los Suárez,” a criminal group that operated in the Villa Española neighborhood and had moved to the area amid disputes over drug sales. The sources said several of the victims had criminal records. The investigation is being handled by the Homicide Department of the Complex Crimes Directorate, under prosecutor Mastroianni.

Interior Minister Carlos Negro traveled to the scene and, after leading a meeting with the police command, said the episode was the result of “a confrontation between clans, criminal relatives, that goes back a long way and has already claimed several lives.” Negro said the ministry had “important information” on the case, though he gave no details because of the ongoing investigation, and announced that operations in the area would be stepped up, conditional on “having more human and material resources.” He also said armored vehicles for patrol duties would be available in about ten days. The minister stressed that what “hurts most” was the death of the teenager, “an innocent person.”

Opposition figures from the National and Colorado parties criticized the security record of President Yamandú Orsi's government. Some lawmakers called for Negro's resignation, and one raised the possibility of a “curfew” in certain areas. Asked about this, the minister replied that “the only one able to request a resignation is the president of the Republic.”

The killing came two days after the death of a 37-year-old woman, struck by a bullet while walking with minors in neighboring Villa García after being caught in a shootout. Uruguay had not recorded a quintuple firearm homicide in a single attack; the closest precedent was a quadruple homicide in the Maracaná neighborhood in May 2024, for which two young men were charged this year.