At Least 12 Killed In Shooting At Catholic Festival In Mexico, According To Authorities

A minor and at least 11 other people lost their lives while more than 19 others were injured in a Tuesday night mass shooting in the north-central Mexican state of Guanajuato, according to Mexican authorities.

The “unfortunate event” occurred in a neighborhood in Guanajuato’s west-central city of Irapuato, the state attorney general’s office said Wednesday, according to a translation. The deceased minor was 17 years old, while eight men and two women were also among the dead, according to the statement.

The shooting occurred at a party marking the Nativity of John the Baptist, a Catholic holiday, according to Reuters. Guanajuato is prone to gang violence, the outlet reported.

The 20 injured people suffered from gunshot wounds and were hospitalized, with some of them having gone to hospitals by themselves, according to the attorney general’s statement. Investigators collected evidence at the scene.

“It is very unfortunate what happened. An investigation is under way,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said, according to Reuters.

Branding the shooting “infamous” and promising further information as the investigation progresses, the attorney general’s office added that it “strongly condemns these acts that threaten life, security and social peace, and reaffirms its commitment to not leave these crimes unpunished.”

A photo shared by Reuters shows the wall of a house at the scene pockmarked with bullet holes, with votive candles sitting near the wall. Videos online that appeared to be of the scene but could not be independently verified shows people — including a child — dancing to loud music before the staccato gunfire-like sounds interrupted the festivities and sent everyone scrambling and screaming. A woman in one of the videos grabbed the child as everyone sought cover.

One member of the musical band that performed at the event was among the dead while two members were among the injured, according to local outlet El Sol de Irapuato. The partygoers reportedly first thought the popping sounds were those of fireworks until they saw people falling down, some already dead.

Victims’s families grew desperate as ambulances did not appear and local police would not use their patrol vehicles to transport injured people because they said they had to secure the scene, according to the outlet.

Juan Mauro González, secretary of security of Guanajuato, said the affected neighborhood was not known for violence at such a scale and that the victims would receive government assistance, the outlet separately reported.

Guanajuato has the sixth-worst homicide rate of all of Mexico’s 31 states, having only recently dropped from fifth place while Baja California on the border with the U.S. state of California ranks the worst, according to the outlet. Some 26 people reportedly have now died across Guanajuato since March in a total of three shooting incidents at religious festivities. (RELATED: Pam Bondi Fires Back At Jack Reed Who Says She’s ‘Not Doing Anything’ To Stop Mexican Gangs From Getting US Guns)