New York golf pro and girlfriend shot dead in broad daylight while quarantining in Mexico
An American golf pro and his girlfriend, a native of Mexico, were reportedly fatally shot in broad daylight earlier this week in eastern Juárez, Mexico. Mexican officials have launched an investigation into the brutal killings of the couple.
The golfer was identified as 32-year-old Patrick Landers, a father, from New York, and the woman was identified as Karla Baca, a physical education teacher. Her age was not revealed. The pair were reportedly killed on Monday, April 20, while they were inside Landers' Jeep, reports state. The Jeep, which had New York plates, was reportedly fired upon more than 20 times, according to KTSM reports.
Landers and Basa, according to the El Paso Times, were quarantining themselves in Mexico amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Baca, who is from Mexico, had been hired as a physical education teacher at the local Federal Primary School 28 in October. She had reportedly just returned to work on Monday after a six-month leave out of the country, a regional federal education administrator said.
The couple was shot shortly after entering the Jeep, a few moments after they exited a cellphone store, according to the outlet. A motive for the killings has not yet been established as authorities are currently probing the case. No arrests have been made in the killings yet.
Landers' family and friends in Central New York are shocked by the killing and are currently in mourning. The golfer's friend, Adam Howe, while talking to Spectrum News, said that Landers was a "good man" and a "great father" to his son Cameron, and loved him dearly.
"He loved him more than anything in the world," Howe said of his friend. He added that Landers was an avid golfer, quick-witted and loved to travel with his dog. Howe also said that a golf tournament is also being organized in Landers' honor and the proceedings from the event will go to his son.
The governor of Chihuahua province, Javier Corral Jurado, issued a stay-at-home directive on March 23 by putting Juárez under a lockdown. The shutdown is intended to curb the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus in the region. Despite the lockdown, violence in the region has continued unimpeded.
Coronavirus cases in Mexico have crossed 11,500, with a confirmed death toll of more than 1,000, according to Johns Hopkins University data on Covid-19.
Reports state that there have been over 100 killings in Juárez this month, with over 560 homicides so far this year, according to a daily tally by Norte Digital news website. Law enforcement officials have said that most of the violence in the area is generally connected to fighting between drug groups over control of the crystal methamphetamine market
Juárez police, in a separate case this week, arrested three suspected members of a hit squad for La Linea cartel group, which has been under probe for over 25 murders, including shootings at the Juárez airport last month. The hit squad is also suspected to be involved in several high-profile murders.