QCOSTARICA – Kimberly Suárez Narváez always dreamed of being police. Almost three years in to her dream, the 23-year-old remains in hospital in delicate condition after being shot in the head during a call of a domestic violence in Heredia.
This was confirmed by the Ministry of Public Security (MSP) and Daniel Calderón Rodríguez, director of the Public Force.
“She is very delicate, she is in serious condition, but remains stable. We have to see how it evolves,” said Daniel Calderón, the national director of the Fuerza Publica (National Police) this Sunday.
Kimberly, who remains hospitalized at the Mexico Hospital, was shot Saturday in Siglo Veintiuno neighborhood, in Llorente de Flores, Heredia.
The young woman, in her 29 months on the police force, has serviced in the Operational Support Group (GAO), the Operations office of the Regional Directorate in Heredia and the San Joaquín de Flores Delegation.
Her mother, Ana Lía Narváez Ruiz, said that her daughter always dreamed of being a police officer and that this is the second time that she has been fighting for her life.
“She always dreamed of being a police officer, since she was little she told me so. I think most of all it was because there are several policemen in the family, one of my nieces and her husband, as well as several other relatives. She already had that in her blood.
“What mother does not support her children? We always supported her in that (being a police officer), fear always existed, but as a mother, one always supports her children so that they fulfill her dreams,” explained Narváez.
Narváez described her daughter as a woman with a heart of gold, who is spectacular as her daughter and also as a mother of an eight-year-old girl. She also said that her daughter has wedding plans, since a few months ago she got engaged to her partner, who is also a police officer.
Suspect arrested
A man with the last name Ruiz Juárez, 27, remains in custody on suspicion of shooting Suárez. Apparently, the aggressor snatched Kimberly’s firearm in the middle of a scuflle when a police unit of three (two men and one woman), attended a case of domestic violence.
“The case is under investigation. The suspect was detained at the scene by officers of the Public Force and the girl is being treated at the hospital,” informed the Judicial Police through its press office.
According to the Ministry of Public Security (MSP), Ruiz has a record of aggravated robbery, simple robbery with violence against people and domestic violence. In a video recorded by a person who lives in the Siglo Veintiuno neighborhood, the suspect is heard screaming and threatening to use a firearm.
“I know how to use a weapon, I was in prison, I was five years (in jail), what do you think I am?” said the suspect.
Violation of protective measures
As to the origin of the call, both Daniel Calderón and Marcela Guerrero Campos, Minister for the Status of Women and executive president of the National Institute for Women (Inamu), stated that the case of violence in which officer Suárez Narváez was injured was known to the authorities.
They detailed that the victim of domestive violence, surnamed Montoya Espinoza, had protection measures and that her case was classified as high risk.
For this reason, the Local Committee for Immediate Attention and Follow-up for high-risk cases of violence against women (Clais) was in charge of providing follow-up, so the Police, upon receiving the call that Ruiz Juárez was hanging around the house, provided immediate attention.
“Yesterday (Saturday) there was a case of double aggression where, unfortunately, Officer Suárez Narváez is seriously injured when she arrives to attend a case of violation of protection measures, a situation that we regret and that greatly worries us.
“It was possible to prevent the situation of domestic violence from ending in a femicide, but at a high price, since an officer was seriously injured when complying with the call for help,” Guerrero said.
