At least 12 people were killed and another dozen were wounded early on Sunday in an attack on a pre-Christmas party in central Mexico, Guanajuato state authorities said.
The violence occurred in the town of Salvatierra, reportedly at a hacienda, or ranch, that can be rented out for festivities.
“So far 12 people are reported dead,” the state’s prosecutor’s office said on X.
Photo: Reuters
Twelve others who were wounded had been taken to hospital, authorities said.
The Tierra Negra foundation, which promotes social projects in the area, said the victims were young people participating in posadas, religious gatherings that celebrate aspects of the story of Christmas.
A person who was at the party, but asked not to be identified for security reasons, said that about six men with long guns entered the venue and began circulating among the 100 or so young people gathered at the event.
“We realized they were not invited and when they were asked who they were, they started shooting,” he said.
The victims were “all young acquaintances, admired and very good people. It’s a horror what is happening in Salvatierra,” Tierra Negra member Carlos Silva wrote on social media.
Three years ago, in the city of about 90,000, authorities discovered unmarked graves with at least 50 bodies.
Guanajuato is one of the most violent states in Mexico, due in large part to the presence and activity of criminal gangs — including a pair of feuding drug cartels.
“I condemn the unfortunate act of violence that occurred in the community of San Jose del Carmen this morning. We are thoroughly cooperating with the prosecutor’s office,” Salvatierra Mayor German Cervantes wrote on Facebook.
In a separate incident late on Saturday about 50km from Salvatierra, four men were shot dead in the city of Salamanca, also in Guanajuato, when attackers on motorcycles arrived at a barber shop and opened fire, local officials said.
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