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At least 10 people killed, nine injured in ‘cartel’ shootout in Baja California

People with long guns were seen getting out of a grey van and shooting at the participants at a gas station

Arpan Rai
Sunday 21 May 2023 14:51 BST
Visuals of the shootout shared on social media showed people running around and reacting in confusion with gunshots being fired and audible in the arena
Visuals of the shootout shared on social media showed people running around and reacting in confusion with gunshots being fired and audible in the arena (Screengrab: Twitter)

A shoot-out at a car show in northern Mexico has left at least 10 people dead and nine others injured, the municipal government said on Saturday.

Gunfire erupted during an all-terrain car racing show in the San Vicente area of the city of Ensenada, the Baja California state attorney general’s office said.

People with long guns were seen getting out of a van and shooting at the participants around 2.18pm local time, reported Reuters.

Municipal and state police, the Marines, the Fire Department and Mexican Red Cross were among the agencies who responded to the scene.

Video footage of the shooting was posted on social media and showed people running after gunfire erupts in the arena. Several figures can be seen lying on the ground.

The wounded were transported to hospitals in northern Baja California by Mexico’s Red Cross, reported Fox8.

The director of the Agencia Fronteriza de Noticias said that the mass shooting was “due to a ‘fight’ between the CJNG (cartel) and the Sinaloa cartel,” citing unnamed sources, according to theTimes of San Diego.

The organisers of the two-day event shared a message of sympathy following the shooting and said that “unfortunately, what happened during the tour was not in our hands”.

“We are as baffled as all of you since we have nothing to do with what happened,” the message read.

Attorney General Ricardo Ivan Carpio Sanchez commissioned a special investigation into the shooting.

The identities or nationalities of the victims have not been identified.

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