Crime & Justice

Gunmen kill 11 police officers in Mexico

Chilpancingo, Mexico, Oct 22 (EFE).- At least 11 police officers, including two chiefs, were killed Monday afternoon in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero, state authorities said. Six other officers were reported missing.

In addition, two policemen were wounded and taken for medical treatment, and two patrol cars were reported to have disappeared.

The incident was reported after 14.00 hours (20.00 GMT) near the federal highway Acapulco-Zihuatanejo, in the state of Guerrero.

According to initial reports, municipal prevention police officers were arriving at a unit in the town of El Papayo when they were surprised by a group of armed men.

According to photographs that circulated on social networks, the municipal police officers were taken out of their patrol cars to be killed, some with their hands tied behind their backs. Most of them are seen with their long-barreled weapons.

Among those killed were the municipal Secretary of Public Security, Alfredo Alonso, and the Director of the Preventive Police of the municipality, Honorio Salinas.

The Deputy Attorney General of Investigations of Guerrero, Gabriel Alejandro Arturo confirmed to the media the murder of 11 police officers, but he noted that there is still no further information.

The events reflect growing violence in the state of Guerrero, where organized crime groups are fighting over territory.

Guerrero ranks seventh in Mexico in the number of homicides, with 800 murders in the first half of 2023, according to the Secretariat of Security and Citizen Protection. EFE

fm/ics

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