The Catholic Church condemned the murder of at least eight young people from a Catholic group in Salamanca, Guanajuato. The young people belonged to the San José Mendoza Parish in Salamanca and were attacked on a multi-purpose court near the church by a group of armed men who opened fire indiscriminately.
According to the Archdiocese of Mexico, the attack left five injured, and more than 50 shell casings from long guns were found in the area. Additionally, the facade of the church showed bullet impacts as a result of the shooting.
In Salamanca, Guanajuato, the highest number of homicides in Mexico has concentrated since 2018, being the sixth most populous state in the country. Local authorities report that most of these murders are related to organized crime. The country ended 2024 with a 1.2% increase in intentional homicides, totaling 30,057 cases, according to official data.
Violence in Mexico has been a constant concern, with twenty of the fifty most violent cities in the world located in the country. Claudia Sheinbaum's government has taken office after a period during which more than 196,000 murders were recorded during Andrés Manuel López Obrador's presidency.
The annual index of the Citizen Council for Public Security and Criminal Justice for 2024 revealed alarming data about the violence situation in the country, where insecurity continues to be a matter of great relevance and concern for society in general.
