At least eleven people were killed on Sunday in a shootout during an illegal horse race in northern Mexico, believed to be due to a clash between rival organized crime groups, officials said.
The exchange of fire took place in the city of El Sauz, in the state of Chihuahua, where five of the victims died immediately and the others died in hospital, said the secretary of Public Security of the state, Gilberto Loya.
Loya said the shooting was the result of “a clash between two rival gangs”.
Mexico’s Attorney General has launched an investigation to determine the causes of the incident.
The state of Chihuahua, which borders the US and is a common transit point for drug trafficking, has been experiencing an intense wave of violence for 15 years.
A total of 411 people were murdered in the state in the first three months of 2022, according to government data.
In February, nine people were killed in Ciudad Juárez, the largest city in the state of Chihuahua, during the funeral of a murder victim.