21. The petitioners gave a long chronological description of each one of the actions included in the investigation undertaken by the Public Ministry, meriting special attention that: On June 14, 2001, the Second Prosecutorial Unit of the Public Ministry of Falcón State (hereinafter the “Second Prosecutorial Unit”) requested the Technical Division of the Investigative Police of the State (hereinafter “the CTPJ”) to take statements from the identified officials as protagonists of the events and carry out the planimetric survey of the scene of the events, technical expert assessment of the vehicle or vehicles used in the procedure, ballistic tests, inquiries in the neighborhood and area surrounding the place of the events to identify possible eyewitnesses, and any other necessary step to clarify the facts. On August 1, 2001, the CTPJ requested to carry out ballistic tests. On September 19, 2001, the CTPJ requested the FSPF commander to order the presence of the identified police officials as well as the turning over of the weapons and vehicles relating to the event under investigation. On September 26, 2001, the aforementioned officials –identified as Nelson Gregorio Saavedra, Valdemar Rodríguez, and Juan Alexander Rojas Reyes- appeared before the CTPJ to make statements. On October 17, 2001, the Superior Prosecutorial Unit of Falcón State informed Mr. Luís Uzcátegui that the case was transferred to the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit of the Public Ministry of Falcón State (hereinafter “The Seventh Prosecutorial Unit”). On November 5, 2001, the CTPJ was requested to carry out the planimetric survey. On February 21, 2002, the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit requested the CICPC to undertake a series of steps, including the ballistic tests, the planimetric survey, the interview of the citizen María Antonia Toyo so “she could attest to the conduct employed by the murder victim,” and any other step that would contribute to the clarification of the facts. On February 25, 2002, the CTPJ requested to carry out the planimetric survey. On January 30, 2003, the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit requested the chief police inspector of the CICPC to urgently indicate whether the steps were carried out from February 21, 2002. On June 17, 2003, the subdelegation of the CTPJ reported that the person in charge of the department of recovered objects indicated, “The firearm had been transferred to the weapons department of [this] police agency in the city of Caracas.” On September 12, 2003, the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit transferred the case to the CTPJ so it would carry out ballistic tests on the gathered elements of criminal interest, a study tracing the trajectory of the bullets, and a study of the control mechanisms at the armory where the officials were assigned. On September 16, 2003, the CTPJ forwarded an order to the FSPF through which they were informed that the Seventh Prosecutorial Unit had ordered to carry out said steps. On September 17, 2003, the CTPJ requested the Criminal Section to carry out the same steps. 4