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Gunmen kill 14 people in northern Mexico

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-08-18 14:11

MEXICO CITY -- Mexican authorities Sunday launched a special operation to find the murderers of 14 people in the town of Creel in the northern state of Chihuahua.

A group of 12 people in three pickup trucks, dressed in black and wearing masks fired at 14 people outside a dance hall during a family party in the mountain town Saturday. Most of the victims were members of the same family, police said.

The Command of the Fifth Military Zone requested the support of the General Prosecutor of Justice in Chihuahua and the State's Public Security Ministry to find the attackers.

Checkpoints will be set up in different parts of the municipality of Bocoyna and in nearby communities to catch the attackers.

Authorities did not give a motive for the attack.

According to local daily El Universal, Chihuahua is the state most affected by violent organized crime, with a total of 1,026 people killed  during 2008.