MEXICO CITY, March 28 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people were killed in an armed attack Sunday night during a clandestine cockfight show in the municipality of Zinapecuaro in Mexican state of Michoacan, local authorities reported Monday.
The state Attorney General's Office explained in a statement that the killings took place at about 10:30 p.m. Sunday local time in the town of Las Tinajas.
A forensic services unit sent to the scene found 19 people dead of gunshot wounds (16 men and three women), while a 32-year-old man died on route to the hospital.
In addition, several other injured people were transported to area hospitals.
The Attorney General's Office said that an investigation has been opened to clarify what had happened.
Michoacan state has been affected for at least a decade by violence from drug trafficking criminal groups.
About 70 percent of homicides registered in Mexico in 2021 were linked to organized crime, with record numbers in Michoacan, according to Mexico's Public Security Secretariat. ■