when presumed drug traffickers hurled grenades into the crowd. At least
14 people, more than half of them children, were injured, authorities
said Sunday.
The assailants in the attack Saturday rode in two
SUVs and quickly escaped the plaza. Several witnesses told Milenio
television that local police blocked traffic after the explosion to
clear the way for the attackers.
Mayor
not confirm that municipal police worked as accomplices but agreed to
investigate “irregularities” with state authorities.
It was only the second time in nearly four years of
drug war that presumed drug gangs used grenades against civilians in an
open town square.
The first incident was freighted with political significance. It occurred two years ago in President
Calderon’s government Sunday issued a statement strongly condemning the blast in
town square outside the Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church and city
hall. The plaza was still decorated with “Viva Mexico” decorations from
last month’s bicentennial celebrations.
City hall may have been the intended target. Five
mayors were killed in a six-week period in August and September,
including two in the
a month to buy off municipal cops. He advocates replacing local police
with state agencies reporting to a single national command.
The injured in
About 24 hours earlier, grenades exploded at three locations in
Elsewhere in
And in the tourist mecca of
The men, described by friends as tourists from the neighboring state of
and were looking for a hotel. State officials said, however, there were
inconsistencies in the men’s information and details that did not check
out.
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