Two children were among 8 killed during a gun attack in the central Mexico region which is rife with turf wars between drug cartels.
According to officials, two gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire at homes in the Silao municipality of Guanajuato state late Tuesday.
The assailants were reportedly targeting four men who were at one home, killing them and a woman, the authorities said.
At a nearby house, a one-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl also died of gun wounds, police said, adding that it wasn’t clear whether these two were specifically targeted or hit by stray bullets during the gun assault.
Guanajuato state prosecutors said three other people were wounded and were in serious condition at local hospitals.
Also read | Indian travel blogger killed in Mexico gang shootout
The gangs have been fighting over control of the lucrative drug trafficking and stolen fuel markets, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
State interior secretary Libia García expressed condolences to the lives lost and assured to bring perpetrators to justice.
“What happened today in Silao hurts us deeply and as the government of Guanajuato, we will continue to work together to give no quarter to those cowards who take other peoples’ lives,” Libia García wrote in her Twitter account.
Also Read | US-Mexico border: Arrests reach record highs, reveals report
“Justice will be done for the victims.”
In mid-November, two similar attacks took place in which 11 people were killed in Silao.
Guanajuato has become one of Mexico’s most violent states due to fighting between the Santa Rosa de Lima and Jalisco New Generation cartels.
Since 2006 when the government launched a controversial anti-drug military operation, Mexico has recorded more than 300,000 murders, according to official figures.
(With inputs from agencies)
