After Mexican security forces arrested a leader of one of the main drug gangs operating in the border city of Reynosa on Friday, gun fights broke out and vehicles in the area were set on fire.

As reported by NBC News, Mexican authorities said that the daily activities in parts of Reynosa, a city in the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, were halted after vehicles were torched and the shooting commenced.

A spokesman for police in Reynosa announced that the federal police, in a joint effort with the marines, had captured a leader of the Gulf Cartel known as "El Gafe."

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a federal government security official has identified "El Gafe" as a man by the name of Jose Hugo Rodriguez Sanchez.

The official had previously identified the cartel boss as Jose Tiburcio Hernandez Fuentes, clarifying later on that Hernandez was in fact a different suspected gang member who was captured as well.

Tamaulipas state government said in a statement that three suspected assailants were killed, and two state police had been injured.

As relayed by a spokesman for the Reynosa police two bystanders were apparently killed, but this information has not officially confirmed.

The spokesman said that “El Gafe” was taken to Mexico City.

Reynosa, a city of more than 600,000 people, has recently been considered one of the most violent cities in Mexico.

The city, which is directly across for the U.S. city of McAllen, Texas, is plagued with turf wars between the Gulf Cartel and the Zetas, two rival drug gangs who are fighting for control over crime rackets and border smuggling routes.

Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca, an opposition senator who was a former mayor of Reynosa, has described the city as “completely out of control."