Armed men broke into a home in the municipality of Tultepec in the central State of Mexico and killed eight members of a family, including four children.

Prosecutors in the State of Mexico said the gunmen forcibly entered the home located in the La Cañada neighborhood in Tultepec and shot the victims between late Sunday and early Monday.

According to Reforma, the armed men immediately escaped from the site before the arrival of the municipal police. Seven people - a woman, two men, and four minors - died at the scene. 

Paramedics found one woman alive. She was brought to a hospital, where she later died. There was no immediate information on a possible motive.

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Eight Family Members in Mexico Shot Dead 

According to El Universal, neighbors called 911 after hearing the gunshots and decided to stay in their homes until the authorities arrived at the scene. One neighbor told the outlet that they only heard gunshots but did not go out because they were scared.

"That's why we asked for the support of the police," the neighbor said.

The Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico said the massacre of eight family members is currently under investigation. It noted that the Edomex Prosecutor's Office would handle the probe "to clarify the facts of the case."

Murders in Mexico

In 2021, murders in Mexico had slightly dropped from 3.6 percent from the previous year. However, femicide rates have increased, according to the preliminary government data released in January.

Reuters reported that the drop in murder rates is a victory for Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office in late 2018, promising to bring down record levels of violence in the country.

The decline in murder rates to 33,308 was the lowest total under Lopez Obrador's administration. It was just below the 33,739 logged in 2018, according to numbers presented by Security Minister Rosa Icela Rodriguez.

The Mexican president argued that violence is a product of historic inequality and corruption. However, his detractors noted that his strategy of "hugs not bullets" had worsened the ongoing impunity in the country.

Many of the murder cases in Mexico were attributed to the turf war between drug cartels seeking dominance in a certain area and the sale of drugs.

Currently, the most dominant criminal groups operating in Mexico are the Sinaloa Cartel and the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.

Meanwhile, femicides or murders of women resulting from gender-based violence increased to 1,004 or by 2.7 percent in 2021 from the previous year. The toll is more than double the number registered in 2015.

Lopez Obrador's response to violence against women has drawn criticism, and he has frequently responded by targeting feminist movements in Mexico.

In 2019 or during Lopez Obrador's first full year in office, murder rates in Mexico reached a record of 34,690. The numbers somewhat improved in 2020, when murders were down to 34,554 or by 0.4 percent from 2019.

READ MORE: Mexico: 90,000 People Have Disappeared Without a Trace Amid Drug War

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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