Mass shooting in gang-plagued Mexican state leaves 12 dead and more injured

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By Lizbeth Diaz and Raul Cortes

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -At least 12 people were killed, including a teenager, and more wounded in a Tuesday night shooting in the central Mexican city of Irapuato, authorities said on Wednesday.

The attorney general’s office in Guanajuato, the violence-plagued state where Irapuato is located, said some 20 others were hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said earlier on Wednesday that the victims included children, although the attorney general’s office later confirmed only one casualty was a minor, aged 17.

“It is very unfortunate what happened. An investigation is under way,” Sheinbaum said.

Local media reported the shooting happened during an evening party celebrating a Catholic holiday, the Nativity of John the Baptist.

A video circulating on social media showed people dancing in the patio of a housing complex while a band played in the background, before gunfire erupted. Reuters was not immediately able to verify the video.

Guanajuato has been for many years one of the most violent regions in the country. On Tuesday, five other people were killed in other parts of the state, according to the attorney general’s office.

(Reporting by Raul Cortes, Aida Pelaez-Fernandez and Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Sarah Morland; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Sandra Maler)