SAA event in Peru on Thu 19th March 2026

A man and a woman were killed in a brazen armed attack on Los Pescadores Avenue in Chimbote*l, Peru, after being intercepted while riding a motorcycle. The victims have been identified as Helkin Erison Jacinto Tafur, 27, known by the alias "Helkin", and Olenka Mirella Castillo Gutiérrez, also 27. Both died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds inflicted during the assault. According to police sources and local reports, the attackers opened fire from a moving vehicle, striking the couple in a targeted hit. The incident occurred in broad daylight on this busy avenue in the Nuevo Chimbote area. "Helkin" was a known figure in local criminal circles, identified as a presumed armed wing or enforcer for the "Los Patecos" criminal organization, a gang active in Chimbote and the Ancash region, involved in extortion, threats, and other violent activities. He had a criminal history dating back to age 18, including an implication in a double homicide in 2016 that led to his imprisonment in the Cambio Puente penitentiary. Authorities have not ruled out that the double murder was a settling of scores between rival criminal groups, amid ongoing turf disputes and internal conflicts within regional gangs in northern Peru. The attack has heightened concerns over escalating gang violence in Chimbote, with police continuing investigations to identify and apprehend the perpetrators.