The Shot that Silenced
a Mexican-American Journalist

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by
La Voz de Aztlan

Photo by Raul Ruiz (Cal-State Northridge)

About thirty seconds before L.A. County Deputy Tom Wilson shoots his 10 inch projectile at Ruben Salazar's head, the unidentified deputy in the picture warns Franco, Garcia and Torres to "come out with your hands up!" They were not their intended targets. Ruben Salazar was just behind the three men. He was sitting on a stool approximately six feet from the door. Behind the deputy are two mothers screaming "don't shoot....please don't shoot!" Before and during the Chicano Moratorium March, there were scores of undercover L.A County Sheriffs surveying the entire march and in constant communications with the Sheriff's Command Center that was set up nearby. Some undercover agents were seen entering and leaving the Silver Dollar while Ruben Salazar was there. A Coroner's Panel ruled Salazar's killing a homicide but Deputy Tom Wilson was never brought to trial.

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The picture on the left is a replica of the military style projectile and propellant that was utilized by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's to silence forever the journalistic career of a valiant and courageous hero of La Raza.

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