Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: CEN

Video Credit: CEN/@GermanMonaco

A dozen cops have been suspended after a car chase with youths reportedly ended with their vehicle being riddled with bullets before it crashed killing four occupants.

The incident took place in San Miguel del Monte in the eastern Argentine province of Buenos Aires and four of the five young people in the car were killed when they crashed, according to reports.

Reports said that the 12 cops, including senior officers, have been suspended pending an investigation to establish whether the police had something to do with the crash with eyewitnesses claiming they were shooting at the car in the moments before the accident.

Pictures Credit: CEN & CEN/@GermanMonaco

According to reports, the victims failed to stop on police orders and were pursued. The officers allegedly fired several shots from close range and the car crashed into a parked lorry.

Meanwhile, local residents have staged protests to demand justice for the victims, identified as 22-year-old Carlos Suarez, 14-year-old Gonzalo Dominguez, 13-year-old Camila Lopez, and 13-year-old Danilo Sansone.

Another teenage girl who was in the car has been hospitalised in a serious condition.

One eyewitness told local media: “I saw everything. We heard a strange noise, like gunshots. We went down to take a look and saw the crash and teens on the ground. They were asking for help.

“I initially thought they may have had a blow out or lost control of the vehicle.

Video Credit: CEN

The witness claimed that when he gave a statement, the cops wrote “bangs” instead of “gunshots” and he refused to sign it before then reporting the incident.

Provincial security minister Cristian Ritondo said: “If the police action was not correct, the officers in question will face the full weight of the law.”

The authorities have also confiscated the officers’ weapons which the lawyers of the victims’ families claim were used against the car.

The victims’ loved ones released a statement saying: “The crash was caused when the police chased them like a hunting operation and fired at the vehicle.”

Lawyer Dora Bernardez said that four bullets were seized at the scene while relatives believe that the occupants had not consumed alcohol or any drugs.

Autopsies confirmed that one of the victims had a bullet wound and there were at least three other bullets in the crashed car, according to local media.

The investigation is ongoing.