Gunmen in Mexico kill 6 people, including a boy, as mass killings of families increase

MEXICO CITY — Six members of two families were killed in Mexico's violent state of Guanajuato, the second massacre of a family in a month there, authorities confirmed Wednesday.

An increasing number of women, children and entire families have fallen victim to the increasingly indiscriminate violence in Guanajuato and other states where drug cartels are fighting bloody turf battles.

The killings in the Guanajuato town of Yuriria claimed six victims — three members of one family and three of another — including an adolescent boy and a woman, state prosecutors said.

Yuriria’s mayor, María De Los Ángeles López, said the victims were working at a construction site when they were shot to death.

Guanajuato’s prosecutor’s office said it is investigating the killings but have not yet detained any suspects.

“It’s a peaceful place,” López said of Yuriria, where “everyone here knows each other and people know those who were killed.”

For years, Guanajuato has had the highest number of homicides of any state in Mexico. The Jalisco cartel is fighting local gangs there for domination of the industrial and farming hub.

Mexican security analyst David Saucedo said that towns in the south of Guanajuato, bordering the state of Michoacan, have constant cartel activity.

“The attack on complete families is with the goal of dispersing rival cartel structures,” he said. “The idea is that they not only retaliate against their rivals but also against their families.”