In this Sunday, Oct. 31, 2015 photo, roosters are seen inside their cages prior to a day of fighting in the closed Route Freres cockfighting arena in Petion-Ville, Haiti. Part of cockfighting's popularity is that it fits into Haiti's gambling culture, offering winnings to some spectators who struggle to live on $2 a day. (AP Photo/Ricardo Arduengo) (AP)
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) – Gunmen burst into a clandestine cockfight in southern Mexico and sprayed the crowd with bullets, killing 12 people and wounding five others, officials said Monday.
The prosecutors' office in the southern state of Guerrero said the attack occurred in Cuajinicuilapa, a town near the border with Oaxaca state on the southern Pacific coast. Some in the crowd apparently shot back at the attackers; prosecutors described it in a statement as "a confrontation."
Two of the dead were under the age of 18.
According to a law enforcement official who was not authorized to be quoted by name, one of the dead was a 12-year-old boy whose father allegedly headed a local crime gang. However, police were unable to confirm the motive in the attack.
Police in Cuajinicuilapa also confirmed the shooting, saying the dead were mostly young males, though at least one woman was also killed.
In the resort of Acapulco, further to the west, unidentified assailants opened fire on an amateur soccer match on the outskirts of the city, killing three people on Sunday.
A law enforcement official in the city said one other person was seriously wounded in the attack. The official also was not authorized to be quoted by name.
The motive in the attack was still under investigation. The dead and injured were apparently spectators at the match.
Shell casings recovered at the scene indicate that assault rifles were used in the attack.
The two attacks did not immediately appear to be related.
Acapulco, and especially outlying neighborhoods far from the beaches, has been the scene of persistent drug gang killings in recent years.
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