KEY POINTS

  • 9 people killed; 4 boys under 18 included
  • Five boys were aged 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18
  • Narco hit squad opened fire in video game arcade

At least nine people, including four children under 18 were killed in a Mexico video game arcade shooting on Monday.

The young victims were boys aged 12, 14, 13, 17 and an 18 year old boy.

The Daily Mail reported that armed men with military weapons whom they suspected as a narco hit squad opened fire in a video game arcade in Uruapan, Michoacán in west-central Mexico around 3 P.M.

Michoacán state prosecutors said that eight of the victims died on the scene while the ninth was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

According to local media, the shooting was one of the many incidents associated with the turf wars between the Jalisco and Viagras drug cartels and their predecessors.

On Friday, gunmen attacked a municipal police patrol, killing one officer and injured two others in Urupuan, The Star reported.

Jalisco gunmen killed a total of 19 people in August, hanging nine of the bodies on an overpass and dumped seven hacked up corpses on a nearby road and left a banner on the overpass threatening the Viagras.

Children in Ayahualtempa train with rifles or makeshift guns to join the fight against drug cartels
Children in Ayahualtempa train with rifles or makeshift guns to join the fight against drug cartels AFP / Pedro PARDO
Cartels
Representative picture Reuters
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