Shootout at Mexico city tourist plaza claims three and injures 7

At least three people killed and seven injured on Thursday when a gunman opened fire in a tourist Plaza in downtown Mexico City. According to the Police, the accused were dressed as Mariachi Musicians, who fled on motorbikes.

Police said, “All the three assailants carried out shooting before 10 pm on Friday in the busy Plaza Garibaldi.” Three victims were killed at an intersection on the edge of Plaza Garibaldi, a major tourist destination packed with mariachi bars, just as the capital was kicking off Independence Day weekend celebrations,” Police Stated.

“Those who killed in the shooting were at a restaurant when the shooting started, forensic officials had counted more than 60 bullet cases at the scene,” Reuters reported. Neither the motive of the attack nor the identities of the gunmen are ascertained.

The area is located near the Tepito neighbourhood, where a cartel operates that is considered one of the largest criminal organisation in the capital. Mexico has been hit by a series of violence since deploying the army to fight the country’s powerful drug cartels in the year 2006. Since then, over 200,000 people have been murdered, including a record 28,702 last year.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Samuel told Reuters. Who had worked for thirty years around the square in one of the busiest cities, declined to reveal his surname. Social media videos showed that the site is cordoned off but dozens of people continued to drink and listen to live music nearby.

In August, police arrested the presumed leader of the gang, Roberto Moyado Esparza ‘El Betito’. Since then, the Tepito neighbourhood has suffered a wave of violence, including several killings, Reuters reported.

In the year 2013, US civil rights leader Malcolm X’s grandson, Malcolm Shabazz, was beaten to death near the square after a dispute over a nightclub bill.

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