Official: Men shoot 12, kill 1 at party in Mexico

MEXICO CITY— A Mexican official says armed men stormed into a “quinceanera” party in the northern Mexico city of Monterrey and killed a man and injured 11 guests.

The Nuevo Leon state official says the gunmen arrived around midnight on Saturday at the party for a girl’s 15th birthday, a traditional Latin American celebration much like a Sweet 16. The official spoke to The Associated Press Sunday on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information.

The aggressors were looking for a man and once they found Julio Cesar Cruz inside the dance hall they killed him, the official said. Family members who tried to protect him before he died were also wounded.

“The friends and relatives tried to intervene and that’s why they were shot, too,” the official said. “Fortunately, the wounds were not serious.”

Eight victims have already been released from the hospital and three others are reported stable. The official said the birthday girl was not injured in the attack.

Monterrey has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the Zetas and the Gulf cartels.