Two men armed with a machine gun and a handgun opened fire in a bar on the outskirts of the Mexican tourist resort of Cancun on Thursday, killing six people and wounding five, the office of the state's attorney general said, according to the Associated Press.
Public Safety Secretary Jesus Aiza said most of the victims belonged to a taxi drivers union. He said the assailants arrived to "The Mermaid" bar in a poor area far from Cancun's hotel zone in two cars Thursday afternoon. Aiza said the two gunmen went inside and began shooting with automatic rifles. Soldiers are guarding the hospital where the wounded are being treated.
"More than 70,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2007, " according to the Chicago Tribune,
The motives for the attack are still being investigated. Last month, six Spanish women were raped by hooded gunmen who forced their way into the Acapulco beach house the women rented.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has vowed to reduce the violence that soared after his predecessor, Felipe Calderon, launched an assault on drug cartels. More than 70,000 people have been killed in drug-related violence in Mexico since 2007.
Police are still trying to determine a motive for the attack.
City officials said they expected up to 43,000 spring breakers, a significant increase over the roughly 25,000 that visited in 2012.
In February, a pack of masked and hooded gunmen broke into a beach bungalow on the outskirts of Acapulco and raped six women tourists after tying up a group of men with cell phone cables and bikini straps, CNN reported.
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