Mexico: Shooting leaves at least 11 dead in the middle of a Guanajuato street

At least 11 people were killed, including minors, and several were wounded in an shooting in a municipality in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato, authorities said Wednesday.

Guanajuato, a major industrial enclave, with assembly plants for cars such as Mazda and Toyota, and home to several popular tourist destinations, is also one of the deadliest states in the Aztec country due to organized crime violence.

Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, deplored the attack during her usual morning press conference, and said it was a "confrontation" where "unfortunately, children died."

The case "is under investigation," he assured, without giving further details about the circumstances of what happened or about the parties involved in the scuffle.

From the feast of St. John to horror

The shooting took place on Tuesday night in a home in Irapuato, the municipal government said in a statement.

According to the local press, which reports up to 12 people wounded, residents of the Barrio Nuevo neighborhood were celebrating the feast of San Juan when gunmen burst in with gunfire. A video released by the media shows the moment when the neighbors are dancing and socializing and then they are suddenly surrounded by gunshots.

Traces of blood on the floor, bullet holes in the walls, and some lit candles on the sidewalk, were part of the scene of the neighborhood on Wednesday morning.

"This was chaos (...), all the people putting the wounded in their cars, running to the hospital wanting to help save them. It was a desperate situation," a neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told AFP.