Four dead in shooting attack after soccer match in central Mexico

Mexico.- Four dead and one injured was the toll of a shooting attack following a soccer tournament in the community of Las Malvas, municipality of Irapuato, state of Guanajuato, in central Mexico, local authorities reported this Thursday.

According to statements by the head of the Secretariat of Citizen Security of Irapuato, Consuelo Cruz Galindo, the people who suffered the attack on Wednesday night “were caught in the crossfire” during a confrontation between two criminal groups.

“Our video surveillance system fortunately captured important information, and from there it is deduced, so far, that there was a crossfire between the members of two groups“, declared the municipal official to the media and explained that the investigation is in the hands of the state Prosecutor’s Office.

Cruz Galindo pointed out that, because it is a Prosecutor’s Office investigation, he could not confirm the version, but he indicated that state authorities have “that suspicion that it was crossfire between different (criminal) groups and there was an exchange (of gunfire) and the victims were caught in the middle“.

He explained that the corporation provided the Guanajuato Prosecutor’s Office with the information it had regarding the attack.

According to local media reports, the attack occurred on Wednesday night when the assailants surprised the athletes by opening fire on them at the end of the sports match.

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Following the attack, agents from the Municipal Police, the National Guard, and the Mexican Army deployed a security operation in the surrounding area to track down the alleged attackers, with no arrests reported so far.

In addition, agents from the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) along with specialized experts arrived at the scene to collect ballistic evidence, and the Forensic Medical Service carried out the removal of the bodies.

This new act of violence adds to the history of armed attacks recorded in Guanajuato, such as the massacre that occurred on January 25 in the community of Loma de Flores, municipality of Salamanca, very close to Irapuato, where an armed commando broke in using several vehicles during a sporting event to fire at the crowd, leaving a toll of 11 dead and 12 seriously injured.

Official investigations attributed that attack to the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, which operates in the region, and led to the subsequent capture of the alleged perpetrator and leader of a shock cell of the criminal organization, as well as two others involved in the logistics and escape of the armed group.