11 killed at teen birthday party in southern Mexico

ACAPULCO, Mexico (AFP) - A teenager’s 15th birthday party became the scene of a ghastly massacre in southern Mexico where 11 people were fatally shot, officials said on Sunday.

The shooting occurred Friday at a “quinceanera” coming-of-age celebration in the Mexican state of Guerrero, not far from the border with Michoacan, where drug-related crimes, including homicides, are a regular occurrence.

“There was a problem at a 15th birthday party, and according to the information we have, 11 people were killed,” said Guerrero’s governor Hector Astudillo, speaking to reporters at a news conference where few additional details were provided.

Like Michoacan, Guerrero, one of the poorest states in Mexico, has seen an explosion in drug-related abductions and homicides.

Southern Guerrero is also where 43 students disappeared in September 2014, after being attacked by municipal police and delivered to a drug cartel, which allegedly killed them.