MORELIA.- An elected municipal official from the state of Michoacán, west of Mexicowas murdered on Sunday in an armed attack that also left his pregnant wife and another person injured, according to police sources.
The victim, Mario Lazaro Mendoza, had been elected as substitute councilor of the municipality of Jacona by the ruling Morena party in the elections held on June 2. Mendoza was shot while in a local recreational park.
Police officers and the National Guard, who received reports about the incident, went to the scene of the attack. “They found the three victims with gunshot wounds,” the police report stated.
The agents confirmed the death of Lázaro Mendoza at the scene. His wife, who had wounds in her abdomen, was rushed to a hospital, where the death of the baby she was carrying in her womb, eight months pregnant, was confirmed. The third injured person, a resident of the municipality, was also hospitalized.
As of Monday, neither the prosecutor’s office nor the state government of Michoacán, both under the administration of the Morena party, had issued statements regarding the murder of Lázaro Mendoza.
This incident comes in addition to the murder, last week, of Yolanda Sánchez Figueroamayor of the Michoacan municipality of Cotija for the conservative National Action Party (PAN), who was also shot dead by unknown assailants.
Michoacán, known both for its tourist attractions and for its prosperous agro-export industry, is also one of the most violent states in Mexico due to the activity of criminal groups dedicated to extortion and drug trafficking.
Source: With information from AFP
