A Mexican journalist named Fredid Román was killed on Monday afternoon in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero. He was shot while seated inside his car on Prolongación Valerio Trujano, in the Progreso district. Local authorities reported that Román sustained gunshot injuries during the incident, and by the time medical teams from the Red Cross arrived, he had already succumbed to the wounds he suffered in multiple areas of his body.
Officials from the Guerrero State Attorney General’s Office stated that state personnel and specialized services went to the scene to carry out the necessary investigative procedures and to secure evidence that would help clarify what happened. The office also confirmed that an investigation has been opened against an individual identified as Fredid ‘N’ for murder with a firearm in relation to those responsible for the crime.
Fredid Román Román was a regular columnist for La Realidad Escrito, a publication circulating in local media. He had previously founded the now-defunct print newspaper La Realidad and had led the organization Red Popular Expression, contributing to various media outlets in Guerrero’s capital.
At this time, a definitive motive for the murder has not been released, and there is no official version yet. The Guerrero Journalists Club, while noting concerns about violence among colleagues, recently sent a letter to the FGE urging a swift and thorough pursuit of justice for Román and for relatives of a separate journalist who was killed in Ocotito within the same municipality.
The letter appealed for the Guerrero Attorney General’s Office to promptly investigate the murder and to address any alleged leaks concerning the request for justice. The FGE responded that it is conducting ongoing investigations and follow-up work to clarify the facts so that those responsible for the crime are held to account under the law.
The death of Fredid Román raises concerns about violence against journalists in Guerrero. With this latest killing, the state has registered a total of 16 journalist fatalities since 2000. It also marks the second homicide in the current state government period. International organizations have repeatedly highlighted worries about violence against the press in Mexico. A representative from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico has warned about the broader impact of such killings. According to figures from Article 19, at least 154 media workers have been killed in Mexico since 2000 under circumstances related to journalism work. Since December 2018, when President López Obrador took office, there have been thousands of attacks on the press, with hundreds of documented murders across the country, underscoring the persistent risks faced by journalists in this region.