20 Dead After Shooting Breaks Out at Cockfight in Mexico: Reports

Aftermath of shooting in Michoacán, Mexico.Photo: ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP via Getty Images

A shooting at a cockfighting venue in Mexico has left 20 people dead.

CBS Newsreports that the State Attorney General’s Office said the individuals died Sunday night in the town of Las Tinajas in the western Mexican state of Michoacán, when several gunmen entered the venue and began opening fire.

According to theAssociated Press, prosecutors said16 menand three women were pronounced dead at the El Paraiso venue, while another individual died on the way to the hospital.

The office of Michoacán’s secretary of public security said in astatement on Twitterthat authorities are working on “capturing those responsible for the violent acts.”

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Prosecutors said the attack was planned, and those who carried it out arrived in a stolen food truck,The Washington Postreports.

“The snack food company truck arrived, and several armed people in camouflage clothing got out,” a statement from prosecutors read, according to thePost. “At the same moment, a bus that was outside the building was used as a blockade.”

According to CBS news, six people were also wounded in the attack. TheBBCreports that the owner of the venue, 59, was one of the people killed, along with his son.

Aftermath of shooting in Michoacán, Mexico.ENRIQUE CASTRO/AFP via Getty Images

Mexico’s Public Safety Department said in a statement that “there are indications that the attack involved a confrontation between criminal groups,“ABC Newsreports.

Over 100 casings were reportedly found at the scene, the BBC reports.

source: people.com