At least 11 killed in central Mexico in apparent gangland attack

Record ID: 1674254

  • Title: At least 11 killed in central Mexico in apparent gangland attack
  • Date: 24th May 2022
  • Summary: CELAYA, STATE OF GUANAJUATO, MEXICO (MAY 23, 2022) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) VARIOUS OF AMBULANCES, POLICE AND THE NATIONAL GUARD AT THE SHOOTING PLACE WITH POLICE TAPE ACROSS (NIGHT SHOT) AMBULANCE DRIVING AWAY (NIGHT SHOT) POLICE TAPE ACROSS THE STREET WHERE THE ATTACK TOOK PLACE CELAYA, STATE OF GUANAJUATO, (MAY 24, 2022) (CELAYA SECRETARY OF CITIZEN SECURITY HANDOUT) (SO
  • Embargoed: 7th June 2022 21:38
  • Keywords: CELAYA CRIMINAL GANGS MEXICO SHOOTING VICTIMS VIOLENCE
  • Location: CELAYA, STATE OF GUANAJUATO, MEXICO
  • City: CELAYA, STATE OF GUANAJUATO, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Crime/Law/Justice,Crime,South America / Central America
  • Reuters ID: LVA001040924052022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: More than a dozen gunmen opened fire in two bars in the central Mexican city of Celaya late on Monday (May 23), killing at least 11 people in an apparent gangland shooting, local officials and media said.
    Seven women and three men were killed at the scene in shootings in two bars, according to a statement by security officials in Celaya, Guanajuato state, which said the attack happened in the Valle Hermoso neighborhood.
    An eleventh victim, a woman, later died at the hospital, according to a state government spokesperson. Two other people were wounded.
    Pieces of cardboard with messages "alluding to a criminal group" where found at the scene, the statement said.
    “According to the information found in the messages (written messages found in the crime scene), it was not an extortion. Everything hints at a clash between criminal gangs,” said the Celaya Secretary of Citizen Security, Jesus Rivera.
    Some 15 gunmen took part in the attack, Mexican newspaper “El Universal” said. The assailants also threw molotov cocktails in the attack, according to a paper.
    Mexico's National Guard, the Defense Ministry and Guanajuato state security forces were searching for the gunmen, security officials said.
    Guanajuato has become one of the most violent regions of Mexico in recent years, as drug gangs battle for control.
    “We are scared; we’re all waiting to see what comes next. We are scared even to go out but still, we have to keep on with our daily lives,” local Gabriela Mendoza told Reuters.
    Government data show there were 993 homicides in the first four months of 2022 in Guanajuato, giving it the second-highest total behind the western state of Michoacan.
    (Production: Luis Negrete, Rodolfo Pena Roja, Anna Portella)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2022. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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