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A threatening hand-written message for
35-year-old Messi, Argentina's captain and seven-times World
Player of the Year, was also left on the shop door.
"Messi, we are waiting for you, (Pablo) Javkin (the mayor) is
also a narco, he is not going to take care of you," it read.
Javkin blamed the security forces for failing to effectively
combat organized crime, which in recent years has grown in the
important port city, where dozens of ships daily load thousands
of tons of grain.
"I spoke (with the Roccuzzos) and they are worried," Javkin told
reporters outside the supermarket that was attacked.
Television images showed bullet casings on the sidewalk where
the business belonging to Roccuzzo's family is located. The
front of the building was hit by 14 bullets and the shop
remained closed on Thursday morning.
Santa Fe's Security Minister Claudio Brilloni told reporters
that authorities did not have any firm assumptions regarding the
motives for the attack. Prosecutor Federico Rébola said the
Roccuzzo family had not received any previous threats, a Rosario
media outlet reported.
On the official Twitter account "Team Messi" and Antonela
Roccuzzo's Instagram profile there were no mentions of the
incidents.
The murder rate in Rosario is among the highest in Argentina, as
gangs linked to drug trafficking coexist, according to judicial
complaints, and clashes causing injuries and deaths are
frequently reported.
The attack came weeks before Argentina play two friendly matches
in the South American country, three months after Messi led the
team to victory in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Neither game will take place in Rosario. Argentina face Panama
on March 23 in the capital Buenos Aires and on March 28 they
play in the province of Santiago del Estero against Curacao.
The matches will be the team's first in Argentina since the
World Cup. Coach Lionel Scaloni has not yet named his squad.
(Report by Eliana Raszewski, with additional reporting by
Maximilian Heath in Argentina; Translated by Angelica Medina;
Edited by Jorge Otaola and Ed Osmond)
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