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Six gunned down in Mexican capital

30 October 2010 21:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Six young men have been slain in the Mexican capital in apparent drug related violence, bringing the death toll from shootings to more than 50 this over the past week, APA reports quoting Press TV.

In the most recent incident of violence, six men were killed and a seventh was wounded by gunmen in Mexico City on Thursday.

The young men, in their 20s and 30s, had been hanging around a convenience store in the working-class neighborhood of Tepito, when gunmen in a white SUV arrived around midnight and opened fire.

While the capital had been relatively spared in previous drug-related attacks, the recent event has raised fears that the violence will spread to the more populated areas.

"Massacres have arrived in the Capital," read the local El Universal newspaper.

Residents initially thought the gunfire was fireworks for Saint Judas Tadeo Day, which sees street festivals across the city.

City Attorney General Miguel Angel Mancera said he did not know whether drug gangs were involved, but admitted that drug dealing as well as carjacking is common in the area.

The neighborhood is considered relatively safe by many residents, and people were still out when the shootings occurred.

The Associated Press quoted Guadalupe Ramirez, 53, who was at the scene of the crime, as saying, "I’ve never seen anything so horrific happen. I go around at 2 or 3 in the morning and nothing has ever happened to me.â€

She added that her 15-year-old grandchild had just returned from buying milk when the shootings occurred.

Drug related violence has erupted in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched his ’war on drugs’ campaign in late 2006.

Over 9,000 people have been killed so far this year in incidents linked to organized crime. The death toll has exceeded 28,300 since December 2006.