Former Child Star Killed in Police Chase, Allegedly Shot Self Accidentally

Tragedy out of Mexico state on Friday after a former child star dies at end of a police chase. According to Mexico News Daily, Octavio Ocaña, a 22-year-old actor, died during the pursuit by authorities after what police claimed was an accidental shooting. Now, the actor’s father is claiming that municipal police are actually responsible for Ocaña’s death, while police are adamant he shot himself. Ocaña is most well known for playing Benito in the television series Vecinos (Neighbors).

Mexico’s state Attorney General’s Office (FGJ)  reported that Ocaña accidentally shot himself while he was driving in his vehicle during the police chase. At the time of the incident, he was being pursued by Cautitlán Izcalli municipal police in Atizapán de Zaragoza. Police have claimed that Ocaña was ordered to stop his vehicle but he accelerated instead. This led to a chase, which resulted in the actor’s vehicle crashing into a retaining wall. Authorities claim that he accidentally discharged his gun and shot himself in the head when the car crashed. 

“As a result of the dynamic of this accident the driver presumably set off the firearm he was carrying in his right hand,” the FGJ stated. There were two other men in the car when the incident occurred. They told authorities that Ocaña took a gun out of the glove department when the chase scene first began. While Ocaña was reportedly alive when the police reached his vehicle after the crash, he later died after he was taken to the hospital. 

The FGJ performed toxicology tests on Ocaña and they allegedly found that he was driving under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. Although, Ocaña’s father, Octavio Pérez, refuted those details and alleged that the gun that was in the vehicle wasn’t the one that shot him. He claimed that the police killed his son and alleged that the bullet wound was not consistent with the type of weapon that he was carrying. Ocaña’s father also refuted the allegations that he was under the influence at the time of the incident. 

“My son didn’t smoke marijuana, my son wasn’t an alcoholic that drank for two days straight because he had responsibility. I’m a businessman [in Tabasco] and he was in Mexico City taking care of my company there,” Pérez said. He added that his son’s death has left him “destroyed,” but he will continue to defend what he believes to be the truth.