A violent armed attack on Wednesday afternoon near the Ignacio López Rayón market in Apatzingán, Michoacán, left three young men dead and three others injured . The attackers escaped after the attack.
According to police reports, the incident occurred on Licenciado José Manuel de Herrera Street in the Babilonia neighborhood. Armed men arrived at the scene in a white compact car; they then got out of the vehicle and repeatedly fired high-caliber rifles at a group of people who were in the street.
The bursts of gunfire caused panic among shopkeepers and customers in nearby stores, who ran for cover to escape stray bullets, while alerting security forces through the 911 emergency number. Municipal Police and Civil Guard officers were mobilized to the scene to secure the area.
Civil Protection paramedics confirmed at the scene the deaths of three men, all minors. Two of the victims were identified as 16-year-old Ángel Leonardo and 17-year-old Erick Eduardo ; the identity of the third victim, approximately 16 years old, remains unknown.
Emergency responders also provided initial medical attention to three civilians injured during the shootout. The injured, identified as 42-year-old Francisco Mauricio , 18-year-old Saúl , and 28-year-old Laura , were transported to different hospitals in the Tierra Caliente region for specialized medical care.
Specialists from the Forensic Services and Crime Scene Unit, under the Attorney General's Office of the State (FGE), were in charge of processing the area of the attack, where they collected and packaged about 20 spent .223 caliber casings, commonly used in AR-15 assault rifles.
Once the field investigations were completed, the experts ordered the transfer of the three bodies to the facilities of the Forensic Medical Service (Semefo) for the legal autopsy, while the ministerial authorities opened the corresponding investigation file to determine the motive for the attack and locate the vehicle of the aggressors.