Eight people were killed and another 14 wounded after assailants opened fire on mourners attending a wake, or vigil for the dead, in the town of Cuernavaca, a popular weekend getaway for Mexico City residents, local officials said on Wednesday.
Witnesses said the attackers arrived in vehicles at a private residence in the Antonio Barona neighborhood of Cuernavaca, capital of central Morelos state, and fired on those keeping vigil alongside the body of a young man who had died in a motorcycle accident.
The Attorney General’s Office of Morelos and state police said in a statement that two adolescents, aged 15 and 16, were among the fatal victims of the attack, which occurred at 10:40 p.m. local time Tuesday.
Four of the deceased died outside the home, and the others on the way to the hospital or while receiving treatment.
Three women and 11 men who were injured, including two minors, were being treated at different area hospitals.
Authorities said the preliminary investigation implicated local organized crime.
“According to the initial forensic study of the ballistic material, the large caliber weapons used in the incident appear to be related to other high-impact crimes recently registered,” authorities said, adding some 40 shots were fired.
Cuernavaca, a leafy city where many of Mexico City’s well-heeled residents have weekend homes, has in recent years seen a rise in drug-related crime as it lies on the trafficking route between southern Mexico and the northern border with the United States. (Xinjua)
