Armed Attacks in Mexico's Michoacan State Leave 6 People Dead, 2 Others Injured in a Span of 24 Hours

Six people were killed, and two others were wounded in separate armed attacks in Mexico's state of Michoacan that happened in a 24-hour period.

According to El Universal, a member of the municipal police of Sahuayo was the first victim on Thursday. Local reports said the police officer was on his motorcycle heading to the local police station when he was shot dead along Hospital General avenue in Sahuayo.

Aside from the police officer, a couple was also shot inside a private home in the Felix Arreguin neighborhood in Morelia city. The man died while the woman was injured. She was taken to a hospital for treatment.

Armed men also shot dead another man on the corner of Jitomate and Rafael Galan streets in Morelia city. Local authorities also confirmed the shooting of four men in the city of Jacona, with one managing to escape unharmed.

The victims were reportedly driving on the Jacona-Venustiano Carranza highway when gunmen shot at them. Two of the victims who died were father and son.

More Armed Attacks in Mexico's State of Michoacan

Late Tuesday night, several armed men entered a store in Ciudad Hidalgo city in Michoacan and shot at people who were present without saying a word. The shooting has resulted in the deaths of four people.

According to Periodico AM, the store was located on commercial premises of Morelos Oriente Avenue. Three men died at the scene, while the fourth victim died while being taken to a hospital.

Authorities managed to identify the victims hours later, saying they were a plumber, a cell phone repair technician, the owner of the establishment, and a merchant.

On Sunday night, an armed group arrived in a cockfighting pit in Zinapecuaro municipality and started shooting at everyone present, AM reported.

In a statement, the State Attorney General's Office initially said that 19 people were killed and five others were seriously injured. As hours passed, it was announced that 20 were killed, including 17 men and three women.

The motive behind the attack was not immediately released, but authorities described the shooting incident as one of the deadliest armed attacks in Mexico in recent years.

Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Armed Attacks in Michoacan State

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said the massacre of 20 people was done by armed groups in the area, AM reported.

Lopez Obrador noted that it was "between one group against another." According to the president, different criminal groups operating in the area have problems with each other, which could mean that the attack in the cockfighting pit could have been an attack between various organized crime groups.

Figures from the reports of the Executive Secretariat of the National Public Security System and National Security Commission showed that there were already 857 victims of intentional homicide in the state since January 1 this year.

In March alone, a total of 256 victims of intentional homicide were recorded in Michoacan. Based on the total number of intentional homicides committed so far this year, there are around 71 victims of intentional homicide weekly, 10 per day, or one murder is committed every two hours in the state.

The state of Michoacan, the largest avocado producer in the world, is known to be home to several Mexican drug cartels.

The Mexican drug cartels reportedly fighting for control of the state are the Jalisco Cartel, Carteles Unidos, the remaining members of La Familia Michoacana, and the Caballeros Templarios. The Carteles Unidos or United Cartels had the support of the Sinaloa Cartel.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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