Particle.news
Download on the App Store

New Attacks Hit Lima Transport: El Rápido Halts Service After Yard Shooting, Pegaso Loses Five Buses in Fire

Police report having profiles of suspected extortionists as strained investigative capacity and slow procedures complicate swift protection and prosecutions.

Overview

  • Gunmen fired on the El Rápido yard in San Martín de Porres in the early hours, leaving multiple bullet holes and shell casings but no injuries, and the company suspended operations for safety.
  • A pre-dawn blaze at Pegaso Express’s depot in Puente Piedra destroyed five buses and damaged another, and authorities are examining whether the fire was accidental or criminally set.
  • The latest incidents follow the November 16 shooting of a San Germán bus in SMP, where the driver survived and attackers filmed the assault as extortion threats continued by audio messages.
  • Extortion investigators from the National Police say suspects have been identified and are profiled as foreigners, with forensic work and case-building underway.
  • Business owners and transport workers describe long waits and limited police staffing, while informal SIM sales, cross-border numbers, coarse geolocation, and slow court authorizations impede timely tracking of extortion networks.