Mitchell Ventura, 56, a naturalized Mexican citizen born in England, was shot to death by a car thief in the parking lot of Sam’s Club in the city of Colima on the evening of January 7.
Ventura had tried to assist the family of Heliodoro Amezcua Rodríguez, who had been approached by a still unidentified thief demanding the keys of their Ford Explorer at gunpoint.
According to a police report, Ventura was shot in the chest with a single bullet as he rushed the car and attempted to dislodge the thief. He expired not long after in a local hospital.
A firefighter who served in the United States and Iraq, before becoming an instructor in Mexico, Ventura was married to a Mexican citizen and had three children. His wife was a niece of Colima Fire Department commander Melchor Ursua, who paid him a glowing tribute this week. “He was an audacious firefighter, very brave, and this made him stand out. He loved to serve people,” said Ursua.
One local report quoted Ursua as saying that Ventura challenged the gunman because one of Amezcua’s children had been afraid to get out of the vehicle and was in danger of being driven off with the assailant. Other sources also confirmed this.
More than 300 firefighters, Red Cross workers and members of the Civil Protection Unit attended his funeral.
“He died like a hero,” said a member of the family he tried to help.