Gunmen in southeast Mexico open fire in a bar killing 6 and injuring 5

Gunmen opened fire early Sunday at a bar in southeast Mexico, killing six people and injuring at least five others.

The shooting took place in the coastal province of Tabasco, which is struggling with a recent increase in violence.

Public Safety Secretary Omar García Harfuch said on X that the shooting happened in Villahermosa and that federal authorities are working with local officials to help solve the crime.

“Armed persons” entered the bar “looking for a specific person” and the shots hit those nearby, state deputy prosecutor Gilberto Melquiades said at a press conference, adding that an investigation was ongoing, AFP reported.

No arrests were reported, and it wasn’t immediately clear what prompted the shooting. Videos posted on social media show people fleeing the bar while some survivors stayed with the victims as police arrived.

The spiraling violence, much of it linked to drug trafficking and gangs, has seen more than 450,000 people murdered in Mexico since 2006.

Sunday’s attack was the latest violent incident to occur as President Christina Sheinbaum inherited a whirlwind of violence.

The former Mexico City mayor, who became the country’s first woman president on October 1, has ruled out declaring “war” on drug cartels.

Instead, she has pledged to continue her predecessor’s strategy of using social policy to tackle crime at its roots, while also making better use of intelligence. Sheinbaum has also studiously avoided using the “hugs, not bullets” slogan popularized by her predecessor and mentor, López Obrador.

Earlier this month, gunmen opened fire in a bar in central Mexico killing 10 people and injuring 13. The attack took place in the historic city center of Querétaro in a region that until recently had long been spared the violence seen in neighboring states like Guerrero.