Rafael Zabalza, the Spanish pharmacist who operated as a sniper in Puebla in his spare time | International

Driving on Atlixcáyotl Avenue, Puebla’s main thoroughfare, became a risky activity. There, from time to time, Rafael Zabalza, a 65-year-old Spanish pharmacist, would appear in a pickup truck and fire indiscriminately at drivers. Over three months he attacked at least 11 motorists and one motorcyclist at various points in Angelópolis, the city’s most exclusive neighborhood, spreading a sense of terror among Puebla residents. In the early hours of Tuesday the prosecutor’s office identified him and located him, and he greeted officers with gunfire at one of his properties. He was arrested along with an arsenal.

According to the prosecutor’s office, Zabalza left his home in the Santa Fe area armed, got into a white GMC Denali pickup with no license plates and drove to different points along Atlixcáyotl Avenue to attack drivers. The assaults occurred at different times and on different stretches of the avenue, with no pattern, which hampered the investigation for weeks. The first attacks took place in April, but for several weeks the victims did not file formal complaints and the prosecutor’s office learned about them through social media, where videos circulated showing cars with bullet holes. Residents of Puebla began warning about a suspected sniper and fear spread rapidly.

José Luis Hernández González, metropolitan investigations prosecutor, explained that it was not until June that a young man injured by a firearm came forward to file a complaint. Since then 10 investigative files have been opened: one for attempted homicide and the rest for damage to others’ property and dangerous attacks. Two more people did not file complaints. “We thought they were isolated incidents, but when we reconstructed the events and carried out technical and scientific investigations, we noticed coincidences,” Hernández said during the case presentation on Tuesday.

Using the case information the prosecutor’s office mapped a criminal polygon where they reviewed private cameras and the C5 surveillance system. Among the tools used was El Faro, a three-dimensional technology that allowed them to trace bullet trajectories and calculate shooting distances. Some victims also managed to identify the alleged attacker. State Attorney General Idamis Pastor and state Secretary of Public Security Francisco Sánchez González said the identification of the businessman was made possible “thanks to the analysis of behavioral patterns and the tracking of a plateless pickup that appeared repeatedly in the different attacks.” Sánchez acknowledged it “was a tough, complicated task” because anonymity and surprise were key, since the person “had no defined pattern, no fixed stretch or schedule.” Authorities say the attacks “caused terror and panic” among the population. “Thank God we only have one injured person,” Sánchez said.

A pickup with no plates and an arsenal

Shortly after 4.00 a.m. on Tuesday, agents went to the first of two homes they were able to link to Zabalza. They knocked on the door and he fired on the police and a patrol car, “endangering the integrity of public servants,” the statement says. However, he was detained and the prosecutor’s office has added that attack to his file for aggravated attempted homicide and damage to others’ property. In that first raid authorities seized a semiautomatic handgun, a rifle, a shotgun, live ammunition and the white GMC Denali pickup with no license plates that he used to shoot at his victims.

At a second property in the Anzures neighborhood they found two .22-caliber firearms, 536 .22-caliber live rounds, 23 9mm live rounds, computers, tablets and nearly 800,000 pesos in cash. Some of those weapons allegedly had permits and registration, while others were for exclusive military use. Attorney General Pastor described the investigation as “surgical” and rejected criticism from citizens who had questioned the prosecutor’s office for months.

Although the prosecutor’s office has not commented on it, on social media citizens have recalled similar events that have taken place in the same area since the summer of 2023. They mention the cases of two men — one riding a motorcycle and another on a bicycle — who were shot in the chest and arm. Months later, in November, two truck drivers also died in that sector of Angelópolis. Local press then documented that one died after being shot in the chest and the other died days later from a stray bullet. At the time the prosecutor’s office said it would try to trace the bullets, although no arrests were made.

After the arrest, a prior interview with Zabalza circulated on social media in which he promoted a domino tournament. “It’s a way to make friends, to foster camaraderie, to transmit values and principles like camaraderie, loyalty, and fair play,” he said in the recording.

Rafael Zabalza was identified as a businessman in the pharmaceutical sector, originally from Spain, with no criminal record. He has also been linked to the civil association ITEBIO, where he allegedly signed an agreement with a university to develop academic and technological projects.

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