Gunmen kill 11 at religious festival in Mexico’s Guanajuato state

In the violence-plagued Guanajuato state, local officials confirmed that 11 people were killed and at least 20 others were hurt in a gun attack that occurred during a religious celebration in central Mexico.

Authorities said on Wednesday during celebrations honoring John the Baptist’s Nativity that the shooting erupted on Tuesday night in the city of Irapuato. Witnesses described harrowing scenes of chaos and panic as partygoers fled the gunfire.

“There was chaos,” he said. Due to safety concerns, one witness told the news agency AFP that people “put the wounded into their cars and rushed to hospitals trying to save them”.

The moment when people danced and celebrated is captured in video that was shared online. The crowd swayed in fear as they scurried across the street.

On Wednesday morning, the scene’s bullet holes and blood still appeared. According to the Guanajuato state prosecutor’s office, a 17-year-old, eight men, and two women were among the dead.

The local government of Irapuato called the attack a “cowardly act” and said security forces are looking for those responsible in a statement. Family members who have been affected by this offer psychological assistance.

The attack was “deplorable,” according to President Claudia Sheinbaum, who opened an investigation. Sheinbaum described the shooting as a “confrontation” at her daily press conference, without going into further detail.

Libia Dennise, the governor of Guanajuato, expressed condolences to the victims’ families and vowed justice after the attack.

Guanajuato is renowned for its industrialization and colonial-era tourist destinations, but it has largely become known as Mexico’s most violent state in recent years.

Authorities attribute a large portion of the bloodshed to a protracted turf war between the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel and Santa Rosa de Lima gang.

Guanajuato had the highest number of murders in the nation last year, according to government statistics, with more than 3, 000 of those cases occurring annually.