Gunmen kill patient and two police officers in Mexican hospital

Gunmen stormed a hospital in Mexico on Monday to attack a man recovering from a gunshot wound, killing him and two police officers, authorities said.

The attackers shot the man more than 10 times in the central city of Atlixco and then killed police who tried to stop them from fleeing, the public security secretariat in Puebla state said.

“The victim entered the hospital on his own early Sunday morning because he was injured by a gunshot wound during a meeting,” Daniel Ivan Cruz, Puebla’s security secretary, told a news conference.

“Early Monday morning, the person was killed by several men who entered the hospital,” he said.

“After hearing the emergency call and arriving at the scene, the police came under fire and died on the spot,” he added.

Investigators were looking into whether the patient – who was about 30 years old – was involved in illegal activities, the security secretariat said.

A popular tourist destination, Atlixco receives thousands of visitors at this time of year for the Day of the Dead festival.

Increasing violence, much of it linked to drug trafficking and gangs, has killed more than 450,000 people in Mexico since 2006.