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Alert

Reporters' van shot at in Cordoba

(FOPEA/IFEX) - The Argentine Journalism Association (Foro de Periodismo Argentino, FOPEA) is concerned about a shooting attack on a van from Channel 12, which occurred in the Yapeyú neighbourhood in the city of Cordoba. Neither the journalist who was sitting in the van nor the camera operator who was filming nearby were hurt. The intimidation took place on 27 October 2011 at 1:30 pm, while journalist María Gracia Martín and camera operator Raúl Vicessi were covering a story about a local woman, Mónica Torres, who had been attacked after she reported an assault.

Martín told FOPEA that the van was running and she was sitting in the driver's seat while her colleague, Vicessi, was filming Torres's home when the shots were heard. "First we did the report on Mónica Torres in the General Paz neighbourhood, where she works. When we found out about what happened to her house in the attack, we went over there to get some footage. When we got there, the camera operator told me to wait in the car just to be safe," said Martín.

The attack on Torres's house came from the balcony opposite her home, where a group of minors was sitting at the time. Martín said that one of the youths approached the van, pulled out a gun and aimed it just below the van. "I didn't think he intended to hurt us. The camera operator didn't see anything but I shouted and we both left quickly," the journalist said.

That night, the head of the police patrol in Cordoba city spoke to Martín and the following day, the journalists filed a complaint with the local authorities.

On 29 October, the police detained a 20-year-old man who lived in the house across from Torres and charged him with intimidation and property damage.

FOPEA expresses its support for the Channel 12 reporting team and hopes the police will identify the people who attacked them.