Luis Alberto Herrera Pájaro, a Colombian extradited from his home country, was placed in preventive prison for his role in a triple homicide during a music video shoot in Pedro Aguirre Cerda. The attack, driven by a territorial dispute, killed a 13-year-old girl involved in the filming. Two other suspects remain fugitives in Colombia.
On Friday, Luis Alberto Herrera Pájaro, a Colombian national with a Venezuelan ID, was formalized and placed in preventive prison by the 10th Guarantee Court of Santiago. The judge deemed him a danger to societal safety due to his involvement in events on December 29, 2023, in Población La Victoria, Pedro Aguirre Cerda commune, Metropolitan Region.
That afternoon, Herrera Pájaro and four other armed men initiated a shootout at the corner of Enrique Matte and Carlos Marx streets. The gunfire, stemming from a territorial dispute, coincided with the filming of an urban music video. Three people were affected: a 13-year-old girl participating in the shoot and two Colombian men, all deceased.
Fiscal Héctor Ramos from the Homicide and Organized Crime Team (ECOH) of the Prosecutor's Office emphasized the case's importance: “it was a highly relevant case for us, because a 13-year-old minor died, who had no connection to the events; while she was engaged in an artistic activity, she was caught in the shootout”.
His counterpart, Fiscal Sergio Ortega, formalized charges for four qualified homicides (two consummated and two frustrated), two simple homicides (one consummated and one frustrated), and illegal firearm possession. Ortega stated: “This defendant, along with four other individuals, arrived at the location, all armed with firearms; they encountered the victims at the corner of Enrique Matte and Carlos Marx in Población La Victoria, and fired multiple shots at them, resulting in three deaths”.
On the motive, the prosecutor explained it was a territorial dispute that affected innocents: “with a group of people participating in the recording of an urban music video. That's why, when the shootout occurred, there are victims who had no relation to these events, they were injured and a minor died”.
Herrera Pájaro was arrested on April 26, 2024, in Bucaramanga, Colombia, and extradited recently. For the other involved parties, formalization in absence and preventive detention were requested, with extraditions pending. Ortega noted: “we requested formalization in absence; we asked for preventive detention; it was processed in the Court, and extraditions are active against the defendants. This was the first one we managed to bring before our courts”. Two more are detained in Colombia.