Five dead, 7 wounded in Mexico bar shooting

Mexican authorities on Sunday said a shooting at a bar in southeastern part of the country left at least five people dead and seven wounded, the latest in a series of similar attacks in the violence-plagued country.

The secretariat of security and civilian protection, in a statement, said a manhunt was launched for the perpetrators of the shooting on Saturday night in the city of Villahermosa, in Tabasco state.

“Five people lost their lives and seven were injured. Analysis of video surveillance cameras is being carried out and elements of the state and federal authorities have deployed coordinated patrols to locate and arrest those responsible,” it added.

Local media said that unidentified gunmen burst into the bar La Casita Azul and opened fire at customers, leaving bloodied bodies strewn on the floor.

DAILY POST reports that Tabasco, home to oil production facilities, has seen an increase in violent crime in recent months.

In November, six people were killed and 10 wounded in another armed attack on a bar in Villahermosa.

The attack came two weeks after 10 people were feared killed in the city of Queretaro, in a central region that until now had been spared from violence linked to organized crime.

The same weekend, six people were killed in a shooting in a bar in a suburb of Mexico City.

According to official figures, drug-related violence has seen more than 450,000 people killed in Mexico since the government deployed the army to combat trafficking in 2006.