California cartel massacre: Sheriff blames 'insecure border' as victims' family refuses support from law
TULARE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: Official insights about the California massacre that resulted in the deaths of six individuals on Monday, January 16, prompted the local sheriff to associate the bloodshed with the border crisis and the growing threat posed by violent cartels.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux reported that six people were killed on January 16 at a place where authorities are aware that gang and narcotics operations have a base. It turns out that one of the six victims was a member of the Sureños gang who had been arrested days earlier for possessing significant quantities of cocaine and deadly weapons but had been released quickly due to soft bail laws. Boudreaux described the killing as "definitely a specific, targeted massacre" and stated that it was "very clear that this family was a target and that there are gang associations involved as well as drug investigations." He added, "But let me make this very clear — not all the people in this home are gang members and not all the people in this home are drug dealers."
Boudreaux described the killing as a 'targeted massacre' linked to cartels but added that not all the victims were 'gang members or drug dealers'
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Boudreaux described how the murderers appeared to pursue "innocent" mother Alissa Parraz, 16, before shooting her and her 10-month-old son, Nycholas Nolan Parraz, at close range as they attempted to flee. It demonstrated what an "ugly world" it can be and made it "one of the most egregious" crimes Boudreaux said he has heard of in his 36 years on the job.
Rosa Parraz, 72, was one of the other six people killed and was described by Boudreaux as "a grandmother who was shot and killed while she was sleeping in her bed." Boudreaux stated, "The 16-year-old female is an innocent victim; the grandmother inside appears to be an innocent victim; and definitely, this 10-month-old child is an innocent victim. None of this was by accident. It was deliberate, intentional — and horrific."
Boudreaux claimed that on January 3, after shell casings were found outside the home where this incident occurred, investigators carried out a parole compliance check. Eladio Parraz Jr, 52, one of the six people shot dead, and a "documented Sureños gang member" was the focus of the check, according to data obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
Officers arrested Parraz Jr after obtaining a search warrant and finding drugs and a collection of firearms, including an assault weapon and ammunition, that he was not allowed to possess as a convicted felon. Boudreaux stated, "He unfortunately was able to bail out four days later."
Nevertheless, Parraz Jr did not seem to be "the initial intended target," according to Boudreaux, who claimed to "know" the purpose but "can't tell you." The only information he provided on the other two victims, Marcos Parraz, 19, and Jennifer Analla, 49, was that the latter was the girlfriend of one of the three survivors who had managed to hide during the massacre.
Boudreaux added that "the family is refusing" all government offers of assistance and security, and that he could not completely rule out the possibility that the survivors were still under threat. The sheriff also claimed that the rampage was "very much like what we've seen in the past when it comes to an execution by a cartel."
"I can tell you, the cartels are here," Boudreaux warningly said. "We have a very unsecure border right now — there's a lot of back and forth when it comes to the cartels and free movement up and down the state and across the border."
Boudreaux stated, "It's shocking that we live in a community where this kind of danger exists. These people were clearly shot in the head, and they were also shot in places that the shooter knew a quick death would occur." The horrifying massacre was "methodical, well planned out, tactical [and] executed quickly," according to Boudreaux.