At least 17 people are dead following a deadly shootout that took place in a small town just north of the Tamaulipas state capital.
Witnesses told Action 4 News that it all happened in Nuevo Padilla, Tamaulipas on Sunday night.
The witnesses said a convoy of armed men rolled into town firing weapons around 9 p.m. Sunday.
According to the witnesses, an intense gun battle was heard around midnight
Residents woke up to find the city hall had been shot up and that several cars had been damaged by bullets.
Preliminary Information
The Televisa network reported that 18 people had been killed in the deadly night of violence while the El Sol de Tampico newspaper reported 17 had been killed.
Action 4 News spoke to both federal and state officials about the incident but neither reported having information about the incident.
Televisa reported that the gunmen had hijacked a bus traveling between Matamoros and Ciudad Valles to use it as a blockade.
The television network reported that passengers were not harmed but had to be taken to nearby Ciudad Victoria, the state's capital.
Previous Battles
Nuevo Padilla is located about 180 miles southwest of Matamoros and just northwest of the sports fishing spot the Vicente Guerrero Reservoir.
But the town is no stranger to the drug cartel violence that has plagued the Mexican side of the border.
Five people were killed in September 2010 gun battle there while and another 12 were killed a few days later.
The witnesses said the town has been without a local police force since their police chief was killed during a previous gun battle.
Official Information
Tamaulipas state officials released new information about the violence late Monday afternoon.
Officials confirmed that five innocent residents were killed in addition to five others killed inside a car and one person killed aboard an outside public transportation vehicle.
The bodies of seven people who had been executed earlier and in another place had been dumped in city's main plaza.
State officials confirmed that the Padilla city hall, a judicial building and police building had all been damaged.
No names were givent but authorities expressed their condolences for the innocent peopled killed in the incident.
State officials promised to prosecute of those responsiable and to repair the damaged buildings.
Comunicado de Prensa
Gobierno de Tamaulipas
CD. VICTORIA, Tamaulipas.- Ante los lamentables hechos de violencia ocurridos en la madrugada de esta fecha en la cabecera municipal de Padilla, el Grupo de Seguridad Tamaulipas, integrado por autoridades estatales y federales, comunica lo siguiente:
1. Se condena con toda energía los hechos de violencia en los que fueron privados de la vida 5 habitantes de dicho municipio, 5 personas que transitaban en un vehículo de su propiedad y 1 persona que viajaba en un vehículo de servicio público de transporte foráneo.
2. De igual forma, condena los daños materiales al inmueble del Palacio municipal, el Juzgado menor del Poder judicial y la comandancia de la policía municipal, a su vez que en dicho momento fueron arrojados a la plaza del municipio los cuerpos sin vida de 7 personas, que se presume fueron ejecutadas en otro momento y lugar.
3. La solidaridad con los familiares de las víctimas inocentes y la atención que corresponde en los ámbitos federal y estatal para la protección de sus derechos.
4. La atención que en materia de seguridad pública requieren los habitantes de Padilla, mediante la coordinación con la autoridad municipal, así como la rehabilitación de los inmuebles dañados.
5. Se reitera el compromiso de colaboración con las autoridades federales para continuar las investigaciones de los hechos, a fin de lograr su esclarecimiento y el ejercicio de la acción penal en contra de los responsables.
6. Con motivo de estos hechos se celebró reunión extraordinaria del Grupo de Seguridad Tamaulipas, entre autoridades federales y estatales, en las que se delinearon las acciones conjuntas para reforzar el esquema de seguridad y atender la situación
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