Gunmen stormed a sports hall in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato on Saturday, fatally shooting a local government official during an amateur basketball game. The attack occurred in front of families and children at a community sports center in Apaseo el Grande, where Ignacio Alejandro Roaro, the city council secretary, was attending the event. In an official statement, the city council condemned the killing, calling it a “treacherous, despicable, and cowardly attack” and mourning the loss of their colleague and friend.
Local media reported that one armed suspect had been arrested in connection with the incident. Guanajuato, despite being an industrial and tourist hub, has become Mexico’s most violent state, plagued by ongoing turf wars between criminal groups. Just last month, a mass shooting at a neighborhood party in Irapuato left 11 people dead and about 20 injured. A month before that, authorities discovered 17 bodies in an abandoned home in the same city, highlighting the escalating violence in the region.
The ongoing bloodshed in Guanajuato is largely fueled by conflict between the Santa Rosa de Lima gang and the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel. According to official homicide statistics, the state recorded over 3,000 murders last year—accounting for more than 10% of all killings nationwide. As violence continues to grip the region, the murder of a public official in a family-friendly setting further underscores the dire security crisis facing Guanajuato.
