3 Commission also made itself available to the parties with a view to reaching a friendly settlement in the matter; to date, neither of the parties have responded to that offer. III. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES A. Position of the Petitioners 13. The petitioners state that at about 8:30 p.m. on August 9, 1994, Ms. Zulema Tarazona Arrieta, Ms. Norma Teresa Pérez Chávez, and Mr. Luis Alberto Bejarano Laura were returning to their respective homes on a public-transport vehicle of Line 165 (the Lima-Chosica route), when they stopped at km 7.8 of the Central Highway, at a location known as La Esperanza (Ate-Vitarte district), to let one of the other passengers alight. They claim that when the vehicle pulled away, two Army soldiers, Sergeant Second-Class Antonio Evangelista Pinedo and Corporal José Arica López, aged 18 and 19 respectively, approached it from behind and, unbeknown to the driver, tried to get it to stop. They state that one of the soldiers, Peruvian Army Sergeant Second-Class Antonio Mauricio Evangelista Pinedo, proceeded to fire 1 directly on the vehicle, causing the deaths of Ms. Zulema Tarazona Arrieta and Ms. Norma Teresa Pérez 2 Chávez, and injuries to Mr. Luis Alberto Bejarano Laura. 14. The petitioners report that Ms. Zulema Tarazona Arrieta was a native of Huancayo (Junín department), 22 years of age, unmarried, lived with her parents and siblings, worked as a secretary at the Oscar Benavides Funeral Home, and was studying computer science at the CIMAS Higher Technological Institute; that Ms. Norma Teresa Pérez Chávez was a native of Lima, 22 years old, unmarried, lived with her parents and siblings, and was studying nursing at the CIMAS Higher Technological Institute; and that Mr. Luis Alberto Bejarano Laura was a native of Lima, 27 years old, unmarried, lived with his parents and siblings, and worked as a security guard at the company Vigilia Peruana. 15. They claim that following this incident, the two soldiers fled and failed to inform their superiors about it. They report that the bus driver took Ms. Zulema Tarazona and Ms. Norma Teresa Pérez Chávez to the Vitarte Health Center, where their deaths were recorded. The shift physician’s preliminary diagnosis certified that Mr. Luis Alberto Bejarano had an open abdominal gunshot wound and ““in addition, acute abdomen requiring surgery.” 16. The petitioners state that after the incident, one of the bus passengers reported to the Vitarte Police Station to give a statement to the effect that there were two soldiers with FAL rifles, one of whom opened fire on the vehicle from an approximate distance of 10 meters and hit several passengers, and then fled by getting into an Army “Comandcar” vehicle, without registration plates, that was carrying other soldiers who merely observed the scene. They claim that according to the statement of Sergeant Major Antonio Vivas Chipillequen, who was commanding an operation with 15 soldiers from the Micaela Bastidas Army Base, including Sergeant Second-Class Antonio Evangelista Pinedo and Corporal José Arica López, they were at the site of the incident on the orders of their command to recruit young men for their obligatory military service. 17. They state that 2nd Sgt. Antonio Mauricio Evangelista Pinedo admitted having accidentally fired the weapon that killed two of the alleged victims and left a third seriously injured and having fled upon realizing the consequences of his actions. In the statement given by José Carlos Arica López, he said that his companion accidentally shot his weapon and that there was enough light and visibility at the time that they signaled the bus to stop. Proceedings brought 1 In their initial petition of January 22, 1996, the petitioners stated that Ms. Zulema Tarazona Arrieta was hit in the head by the gunshot, causing a large wound with a loss of skin, scalp, and part of the cranium, and that she died from brain injury. 2 In their initial petition of January 22, 1996, the petitioners stated that Ms. Norma Teresa Pérez Chávez was hit in the chest by the gunshot, injuring her cardiovascular system and causing her death from hypovolemic shock.