Unknown armed men have massacred a family of four in the troubled western slums of Colombia’s second largest city Medellin.
Medellin’s Security Secretary, Arnulfo Serna, confirmed reports by locals that the family, consisting of a 7-year-old girl, her mother and her two grandparents were assassinated at home.
According to Caracol Radio, a fifth victim — a 10-year old boy — survived the attack and was able to alert neighbors who in turn alerted the authorities.
According to Serna, police are looking for the alleged perpetrators of the massacre which was carried out with machetes.
Medellin’s police department said the slaughter might have been the result of family problems.
General Jose Angel Mendoza, the commander of Medellin’s Metropolitan Police told newspaper El Espectador he thought it was strange that none of the neighbors or police stationed at less than 500 feet of the massacre had noticed the ongoing killing.
The Belencito neighborhood where the massacre took place is considered one of the most dangerous areas of Medellin as the neighborhood is being contested by gangs aligned to local crime syndicate Oficina de Envigado and gangs aligned with neo-paramilitary organization Urabeños.