In a shooting at a bar in the Guanajuato state of central Mexico, which has increasingly been the victim of cartel violence, nine people were killed and two others were injured, according to local officials on Thursday, news agency Reuters reported.
Around 9 p.m. on Wednesday in the hamlet of Apaseo el Alto, outside of Celaya, an armed gang entered the pub and started shooting at everyone inside, according to officials.
The town said that two additional people were injured along with five males and four women who were murdered in the firing. The injured women's condition was stable.
Officials stated that the attackers had not yet been identified and that the National Guard and several state and federal law enforcement agencies would be sending troops to the scene.
Two posters "alluding to a criminal organisation" were allegedly left at the location, according to the municipality. After assassinations, cartels in Mexico routinely leave notes for other organisations or the government.
The industrial centre of Guanajuato has recently been devastated by cartel territorial battles. Following a shooting that left 10 people dead close by in September, 12 people were slain at a pub in the city of Irapuato last month.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the current president of Mexico, entered office in 2018 with a commitment to lessen cartel violence. Although there has been a minor decrease in homicides in 2022, Lopez Obrador's presidency is on course to be the worst in modern times.
(With Inputs From Reuters)