MEXICO CITY: At least 11 people, including a teenager, were killed when gunmen opened fire at a holiday party in the central Mexican city of Irapuato on Tuesday night, authorities said on Wednesday.
Several others were injured and taken to hospital.
The attack happened during celebrations for a Catholic holiday, according to local reports. The occasion is marked to celebrate the Catholic feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist.
The attorney general’s office in Guanajuato – a state long plagued by gang violence – stated that 20 more individuals were taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.
Authorities said that an investigation was under way, and one of the victims was just 17 years old.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum earlier said that the victims included children, though the attorney general’s office later confirmed that only one of the dead was a minor, aged 17.
“It is very unfortunate what happened. An investigation is under way,” Sheinbaum said.
A video shared on social media appeared to show people dancing in the courtyard of a housing complex while a band played, before gunfire broke out. Reuters was unable to independently verify the footage.
Guanajuato has for years been one of Mexico’s most violent regions, with rival criminal groups battling for control of drug routes and other illegal operations. On the same day, five other people were reported killed in separate incidents across the state, according to the attorney general’s office.
