A group of armed men killed five police officers on the main street of Guaymas, Sonora, yesterday, state security authorities said.

Two attacks occurred just after midday on Aquilés Serdán Avenue in the downtown area of the port city near schools and businesses.

Gunmen in a pickup truck first opened fire on a group of six municipal police, killing three.

The three other officers were wounded and transferred by helicopter to the state capital Hermosillo, where one died.

Minutes later, the same gunmen killed a transit police officer on the same street after he tried to halt their escape.

The state Secretariat of Public Security activated a code red alert following the attacks that mobilized the army and federal and municipal forces to search for the aggressors, but no arrests were made.

Yesterday’s attack came just over two months after a video surfaced in which Guaymas municipal police officers appeared to hand over three men to individuals linked to organized crime in the beachfront community of San Carlos.

Former Guaymas mayor Lorenzo de Cima told the newspaper El Universal that according to officers’ statements, four men, who are still missing, were in fact turned over.

One of the men is reportedly a member of the Salazar family, founder of a regional gang known as Los Salazar.

Violence spiked following the incident leading the United States consulate general in Hermosillo to issue a security alert on July 31 for the cities of Guaymas, San Carlos and Empalme. The alert remains in place.

In early August, more than 200 federal and state security personnel assumed policing functions in Guaymas to reinforce security and carry out a surprise inspection of the municipal force.

Source: El Universal (sp)