Shock as police officer shot dead in Retiro station

Maribel Zalazar was shot with her own service weapon after offering the man a glass of water

Public transport workers announced an immediate strike and police reacted with anger after officer Maribel Nélida Zalazar, 35, was shot dead at Retiro station on Tuesday by a man who had been taken ill on the subway. 

Oscar Valdez, 30, told a security guard he wasn’t feeling well, and Zalazar approached to help, offering him a glass of water. When a dispute broke out because Valdez did not want to lie on a stretcher, he grabbed her service revolver and started shooting into the air, injuring Zalazar and a subway worker. Valdez was taken to the Churruca Hospital, where she later died. The subway worker was treated in Fernández hospital and survived. 

Valdez fled the scene and was detained by police at the subway exit. He will give a statement before Judge Martín Peluso today.

Valdez’s girlfriend said that they were working together at 8 a.m. when he started to experience problems with his legs. They took the subway to Retiro station to meet a relative who was going to give them money and his ID so they could go to hospital. 

Zalazar had worked for the Buenos Aires city police since 2017, where she was assigned to the subway division, and previously worked for the Federal Police. She was the mother of two children. 

The Subway Workers’ Union (AGTSyP – Metrodelegadxs) released a statement saying that they were “worried about the exposure to the insecurity that subway workers face on a daily basis.”

Public transport unions went on strike over the incident, shuttering the subway for the rest of the day before resuming service on Wednesday. 

The Criminal Court 9 from Retiro will be in charge of the investigation. On Wednesday morning, Buenos Aires city government decreed two days of mourning for the death of Zalazar.

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