Editor’s Note: Breitbart Texas traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas and Coahuila to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “A.C. Del Angel” from Reynosa.

REYNOSA, Tamaulipas — Residents in this border city have been under fire for at three days as military forces hunt for Gulf Cartel leader Comandante Toro. The most recent clash killed an innocent bystander who had been playing baseball at a local park when a gun battle suddenly began and a stray bullet hit him.

The spike in violence comes after Mexican Marines have stepped up their efforts to capture Julian “Comandante Toro” Loisa Salinas, the regional leader of the criminal organization known as the Gulf Cartel who heads up the faction known as Los Metros.

This week the fighting has intensified as Mexican marines have used Blackhawk helicopters in order to counter the use of armored SUV’s by cartel gunmen. One of the strategies being used in effort to fool cartel lookouts is the use unmarked SUV’s by Mexican marines.

On Wednesday afternoon, Mexican authorities had been pursuing a convoy of cartel gunmen who managed to get to the outskirts of a local shopping mall called Plaza del Rio spreading panic amongst the local shoppers. The firefight continues on the outside of the shopping mall with military helicopters raining gunfire against the cartel gunmen forcing bystanders to hide inside the stores in an effort to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Some of the gunmen ran inside the mall setting off a manhunt in the shopping plaza.

A helicopter tried to land at a nearby school, without success. Medical personnel arrived and took away a man on a stretcher, remains unclear if the person was a innocent bystander or a cartel member.

Later that day, authorities clashed with gunmen in the Jardines Coloniales neighborhood. In that gunbattle, authorities and Mexican marines on helicopters were able to surround the gunmen and keep them from fleeing. The bodies of two gunmen were left behind, as the fighting continued. Mexican authorities have not released any information as to the casualties that day.

That same day, a man playing baseball in the Modelo 2000 neighborhood was struck by a stray bullet killing him almost instantly.

In one of the videos taken from the balcony of a home, the sound of machine gunfire can he heard in the distance.

Another video appears to show the moments after a team of Mexican marines rappelled down from a helicopter into a property.

Another video taken by bystanders shows them hiding for cover as a helicopter down the street begins to fire at what are believed to be cartel gunmen on the ground.

Breitbart Texas previously reported on a series of fierce gun battles between cartel gunmen and Mexican marines with air support from military helicopters that rained down gunfire. During that gun battle authorities managed to kill eight gunmen.

The very next day, Mexican marines with air support killed two more gunmen in another clash in the same area.