14-year-old nicknamed 'El Chapito' allegedly shoots up family birthday party in Mexico, 8 killed

A 14-year-old boy allegedly opened fire on a family in a drug-related mass shooting in Mexico recently, according to the Daily Mail.

The teen, nicknamed "El Chapito" after the infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, allegedly participated in a shooting that left eight people dead.

The boy is said to have pulled up on a motorcycle before opening fire on the family birthday party in the low-income Mexico City suburb of Chimalhuacan.

In addition to the eight deceased, five more adults and two children were injured in the havoc. One of the children is said to be 3 years old. Motives for the shooting are unknown; however, the murders are alleged to be gang- or drug-related given the nature of the suspects.

Another man nicknamed "El Nono" was arrested in connection with the violent attack, with seven additional gang members reportedly being charged with drug-related crimes, according to Mexico's federal public safety department.

While the young boy's real name was not released, "El Chapito" translates to "the little boy," and "El Nono" translates to "the ninth."

The 14-year-old was placed in the custody of what is described as a specialized control judge in Mexico's Comprehensive Criminal Justice System for Adolescents. The system was established through a constitutional amendment in 2005, for "juveniles between 12 and 18 years old who had committed a crime punishable under criminal law."

The constitutional reform also provides "framework that includes special tribunals as well as alternative justice options for juveniles," which makes it so that institutionalization of minors is considered "an extreme measure applicable only to felonies and to juveniles older than 14."

This story echoes a 2010 case in which a 14-year-old boy called "El Ponchis" confessed to participating in at least four decapitations. In 2013, at 17 years old, he was released from juvenile detention and brought back to the United States, where he was born.

The gang member claimed he was kidnapped at 11 years old and forced to work for the Mexican Cartel of the South Pacific, a branch of the Beltran Leyva gang.

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