A Mexican journalist and his police bodyguard were murdered in a hail of gunfire in the southern state of Guerrero early Sunday, police and human rights officials said.

Pablo Morrugares is the fourth journalist murdered in Mexico in 2020, according to an AFP tally.

Morrugares ran the PM Noticias, an online publication based in the city of Iguala that specialized in covering crime and police events.

Around 1:00 am Sunday (0600 GMT), heavily armed men entered the restaurant-bar in Iguala where Morrugares and his bodyguard were dining and opened fire on them, according to police reports.

Journalists protest the murder of their colleague Maria Helena Ferral in Xalapa, Veracruz state, on April 1, 2020 -- a total of four journalists have been murdered in the country since the start of 2020
Journalists protest the murder of their colleague Maria Helena Ferral in Xalapa, Veracruz state, on April 1, 2020 -- a total of four journalists have been murdered in the country since the start of 2020 AFP / HECTOR QUINTANAR

Morrugares was given police protection after he and his wife escaped an attempt on their lives in 2016.

Just before he was killed, Morrugares had reported on a crime close to a nearby supermarket that involved a turf battle between criminal gangs, according to local media.

The Guerrero state Human Rights Commission, an autonomous government office, condemned Morrugares's murder and demanded an "immediate investigation" to identify and capture the killers.

Last year, 10 journalists were murdered in Mexico, according to the NGO Reporters Without Borders.

More than 100 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000, with only a fraction of those crimes resulting in convictions.

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