Last Updated: December 18, 2023, 09:52 IST
Police officers are positioned outdoors the positioning of a celebration the place an armed group opened hearth on partygoers attending a posada in Salvatierra, Guanajuato state, Mexico Dec 17, 2023. (Reuters)
Tragic assault at a pre-Christmas celebration in central Mexico leaves 12 lifeless and a dozen injured. Guanajuato faces rising violence; investigations ongoing
At least 12 individuals had been killed and one other dozen had been wounded in an assault early Sunday on a pre-Christmas celebration in central Mexico, authorities in the state of Guanajuato stated.
The violence occurred in the city of Salvatierra, reportedly at a hacienda, or ranch, that may be rented out for festivities. “So far 12 people are reported dead,” the state’s prosecutor’s workplace stated on X, the previous Twitter.
Twelve others who had been wounded have been taken to hospital, based on authorities. The Tierra Negra basis, which promotes social initiatives in the world, stated the victims had been younger individuals collaborating in “posadas,” spiritual gatherings that remember points of the story of Christmas.
An individual who was on the celebration however requested to not be recognized for safety causes advised AFP that about six males with lengthy weapons entered the venue and commenced circulating among the many 100 or so younger individuals gathered on the occasion. “We realized they were not invited, and when they were asked who they were, they started shooting,” he stated.
The victims had been “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 in the past, in the town of some 90,000, authorities found unmarked graves with not less than 50 our bodies.
Guanajuato is without doubt one of the most violent states in Mexico, due in massive half to the presence and exercise of felony gangs — together with 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 posted on Facebook.
In a separate incident late Saturday about 50 kilometers (31 miles) away from Salvatierra, 4 males had been shot lifeless in the town of Salamanca, additionally in Guanajuato, when attackers on bikes arrived at a barber store and opened hearth, native officers stated.
Similar assaults have been recorded in current years in Guanajuato, which this yr topped the listing of states with essentially the most homicides in Mexico, with 3,029 thus far, based on official figures.
