Photo: Facebook

By MARK LORENZANA

A shootout on the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 2, in one of the most important commercial areas in the municipality of Zapopan in the Mexican state of Jalisco, caused panic among people who were enjoying their time at a shopping center. Local authorities have reported multiple injuries and at least one dead.

Video clips of the attack were posted on various social media networks. In the videos, several armed men can be seen disembarking from vehicles with guns in tow, and proceeded shooting, as several people were trapped inside the high-end shopping mall Plaza Andares. Majority of the shoppers sought shelter in nearby stores or dropped to the ground, while other curious bystanders took videos of the gunfight.

According to the preliminary investigation, more than 200 shots from rifles were recorded, which caused injuries to at least four civilians. Two long firearms and 200 shell casings were recovered from the scene.

Jalisco prosecutor Luis Joaquín Méndez Ruiz confirmed that an armed group arrived at the shopping center targeting a person whose identity has not been revealed by authorities, and that his bodyguards also responded with gunshots of their own.

When the armed group tried to flee, a second shootout broke out as elements of the Secretary of National Defense (Sedena) arrived at the scene and arrested several of the armed men.

One of the bodyguards died on the scene, and another was taken to the hospital, according to local reports.