Eight members of the same family — including four children — were massacred by gunmen in México state early Monday morning.
Three girls and one boy, including a two-year-old baby, a man and three women were shot in the head at a property in Tultepec, a municipality 45 kilometers north of Mexico City. The victims, who had been sleeping when gunmen entered the property, were found murdered in their beds.
The man who was killed is thought to be the principal target of the attackers, the newspaper El Universal reported.
Neighbors heard gunshots and screams from the property and were afraid to go out, but contacted police. No arrests have been announced for what appears to be a targeted killing.
Bullet holes are visible on the property and police found bullet casings from three different weapons.
Mayor Sergio Luna Cortés said the attack was a “circumstantial situation,” without providing further details.
Luna met with security and justice officials on Monday to request security reinforcements. The National Guard promised to send more personnel.
The state Attorney General’s Office had little to say about the attack, but confirmed it had opened an investigation.
In the first two months of the year, Tultepec, the self-declared fireworks capital of Mexico, registered five homicides with firearms and one with a knife, while in the same period in 2021 there were only three homicides, according to data from the National Public Security System (SENSP).
In January and February there were 594 murders in the state. In 2021, México state was second only to Guanajuato for number of homicides.
With reports from El Universal and Milenio
