Southern Mexico: Birthday party turns into a nightmare after 11 were shot dead

Acapulco (Mexico): A teenager’s 15th birthday party became the scene of a ghastly massacre in southern Mexico where 11 people were fatally shot, officials have said. The shooting occurred Friday at a “quinceanera” coming-of-age celebration in the Mexican state of Guerrero, not far from the border with Michoacan, where drug-related crimes, including homicides, are a regular occurrence. [caption id=“attachment_2606160” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representative image. AFP[/caption] “There was a problem at a 15th birthday party, and according to the information we have, 11 people were killed,” said Guerrero’s governor Hector Astudillo, speaking to reporters at a news conference yesterday where few additional details were provided. Like Michoacan, Guerrero, one of the poorest states in Mexico, has seen an explosion in drug-related abductions and homicides. Southern Guerrero is also where 43 students disappeared in September 2014, after being attacked by municipal police and delivered to a drug cartel, which allegedly killed them. AFP