A Mexican journalist who worked in one of Mexico's most crime-ridden areas was killed by gunmen last night, and two people from his police guards were injured, the Associated Press reported, citing local authorities.
The Internet news portal run by reporter Alejandro Martinez confirmed his death. The page covered local news and crime in Zelaya, the most dangerous city for police in Mexico.
Law enforcement in Zelaya said Martinez was shot by assailants traveling in another vehicle. She added that the two bodyguards were in hospital, but did not specify their condition.
The journalist got police protection after he reported receiving threats. The Guanajuato state prosecutor's office said it was investigating the murder.
Martinez covered a fatal car accident on a dangerous stretch of freeway just hours before he was attacked. His wounded bodyguards took him to hospital, where he died.
Guanajuato has the highest number of murders among all 32 states in Mexico, largely due to the years-long turf war between the Jalisco drug cartel. and the local gang "Santa Rosa de Lima". A total of 18 Celaya police officers have been shot dead since the start of the year in the city of half a million. Drug gangs are suspected of most of these murders.
In Mexico, journalists regularly come under attack, often in retaliation for their work on topics such as corruption and the country's notoriously brutal drug traffickers, the AP points out.