MEXICO: On Wednesday, a shooter opened fire at the San Miguel Totolapan City Hall, killing at least 18 people in yet another horrific incident of gun violence in Mexico.
An armed group reportedly opened fire at San Miguel Totolapan’s municipal hall around 14:00 (19:00 GMT) on Wednesday, killing a mayor and 17 other people in the process, according to many local media sources.
Although the administration has not officially confirmed the death toll, Mexico’s local media sources and eyewitnesses allege that at least 18 bodies have been found at the scene of the tragedy.
The PRD, the political party of Mayor Conrado Mendoza Almeda, has denounced the “cowardly” assassination of the mayor and demanded justice.
The criminal organisation Los Tequileros has been accused of carrying out the assault.
In the massacre, there were also the deaths of police officers and council employees. On social media, graphic pictures of dead bodies on the ground were shared.
Before the attack spread to the city hall, Mr. Mendoza Almeda’s father, former mayor Juan Mendoza Acosta, was also assassinated—in his home.
Additionally, the report claimed that the group adopted the well-known method of escaping the scene.
According to reports, a highway in the state of Guerrero, where San Miguel Totolapan is located, was briefly blocked by large vehicles to prohibit security personnel from entering the city.
San Miguel Totolapan lies in the heart of a region known as Tierra Caliente, a risky region in western Mexico controlled by drug cartels.
Guerrero’s attorney general stated that in addition to the 18 fatalities, three additional individuals had been injured in a preliminary report that was made available to the local media.
The Ministry of National Defence announced after the attack that it was sending army and navy personnel to the area to track down the shooters. Evelyn Salgado Pineda, the governor of Guerrero, tweeted her regret over the fatalities.
She tweeted, “I deeply regret the sensitive death of the mayor of San Miguel Totolapan, Conrado Mendoza Almeda. I condemn the facts and reiterate that there will be no impunity in the face of the cunning aggression against the municipal president and City Council officials in the @Gob_Guerrero.”
Shortly before the incident, alleged members of Los Tequileros posted a video on social media announcing their return to the area, where they had been engaged in a drug gang conflict.
Before the murder of its leader, Raybel Jacobo de Almonte, the criminal organisation that destroyed Guerrero between 2015 and 2017 was well known for threatening local mayors.
De Almonte was referred to as El Tequilero, or “the Tequilero,” and his gang adopted this moniker after him.
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