MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – From violent kidnappings to mass shootings, 2023 has seen its share of appalling crimes around the world. Here are five of the most notable crime stories from Mexico, Kenya, Germany, and the United Kingdom this year.
The city of Culiacan in Sinaloa, Mexico, was the site of an intense battle in January where Mexican authorities engaged in a bloody raid to capture Ovidio Guzmán, the son of notorious Mexican drug cartel leader Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán. The intense fighting resulted in the deaths of 30 people, including 10 military personnel.
Two months later, the country made international news again when four American citizens were kidnapped in Mexico. Their trip took a turn for the worse when they found themselves in the crossfire of rival cartels shortly after crossing the U.S. border.
In March, Hamburg, Germany, saw a mass shooting at a Jehovah’s Witnesses center where a gunman killed seven people, including an unborn child, before taking his own life. The incident left eight other people wounded, four of whom suffered serious injuries.
In Kenya, police recovered hundreds of bodies believed to be connected to a Christian cult that allegedly believed they would meet Jesus Christ if they starved themselves to death. The self-proclaimed Good News International Church was linked to mass graves containing over 400 bodies.
Finally, in the United Kingdom, a nurse was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murdering seven babies in a neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The nurse, Lucy Letby, was also convicted of attempting to kill six other babies during a year-long killing spree.
These stories offer a glimpse into the tragic and troubling criminal activities that have unfolded around the world in 2023. As the year comes to a close, they serve as a somber reminder of the impact of crime on communities globally.