Shooting victim Guillermo Mendoza.
The son of a Guanajuato mayor is the latest victim of an organized crime killing after gunmen opened fire on a vehicle Wednesday in Celaya.
Guillermo Mendoza SuĂĄrez, 47, was killed when he returned to his vehicle after stopping at a pharmacy in El Zapote. Once he was inside his car, sicarios surrounded him and rained gunfire from both sides. Authorities said later the vehicle was hit 19 times by high-caliber rounds. The assailants fled on motorcycles.
Owner of an asphalt company in Celaya, Mendoza was the son of Mayor Javier Mendoza MĂĄrquez, who signed an agreement Monday to increase security in the city and receive federal help in the training and equipping of local police.
The murder comes a week after an outbreak of violence in the state that included attacks on Oxxo convenience stores, blocking highways and setting vehicles on fire, allegedly by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel after the arrest of high-ranking members.
“I condemn this cowardly and terrible criminal act,” said Governor Diego Sinhue RodrĂguez via social media, “and I call on the state Attorney General’s Office to immediately begin an investigation into this crime. I reiterate my commitment to citizens to continue fighting for peace in Celaya and the rest of the state in coordination with the municipal, state and federal governments.”
With reports from Reforma and El PaĂs
