Three people were killed when an armed group attacked Police Post No. 4 in the Naranjito colony of Paraguay's Canindeyu department, according to police and prosecutors. The dead were two police officers and a civilian who worked as a secretary at the station.
The assault occurred Tuesday night in Naranjito, part of the Ybyrarobana district. Attackers set fire to the police building and several vehicles and stole police weapons, authorities said. One officer was wounded and another survived, according to victim information published with the supplied report.
National Police commander Cesar Silguero said investigators had developed several possible names for people who may have participated. He withheld details to protect the inquiry and did not announce arrests. He described the attackers as an organized criminal group that had deliberately targeted an institution representing the state.
Authorities had not determined whether the self-styled Paraguayan People's Army, known by its Spanish initials EPP, carried out the assault. Silguero and prosecutor Oscar Paredes said no hypothesis had been excluded. The station attack should therefore not be attributed to the EPP without a formal finding or claim.
Witness accounts indicated that the attackers arrived on foot. Some wore balaclavas while others left their faces uncovered. Investigators believed Molotov cocktails and fuel-soaked cloth placed in vehicle tanks were used to start fires. Those details remained part of the preliminary reconstruction.
Paredes said the initial criminal investigation would address intentional homicide and criminal association, while allowing for additional offenses as evidence developed. Items recovered from the scene were sent to the criminalistics department for examination. Specialized prosecutors Lorenzo Lezcano and Federico Delfino joined the inquiry.
Silguero said important evidence had been collected and that the attackers appeared to have planned and prepared the operation. His assessment relied on the killings, stolen weapons and coordinated burning. It did not establish the number of assailants, their organization or their motive.
Police reinforced security across the area and created a unified command post involving specialist units. Senior police officials remained assembled as the investigation continued with prosecutors. Authorities said their aim was to identify suspects and bring them before the courts, not merely attach an organizational label to the attack.
The evidence established a lethal, planned assault on a rural police installation and extensive fire damage. Forensic results, verified suspect identities and a conclusion about whether the EPP or another group was responsible were still pending. Investigators also needed to trace the stolen police weapons and determine how the assailants withdrew without immediate capture.
