Probe sought into use of guns by police at Mexican protest

Gulf Today Report

Authorities, the United Nations and rights groups in the Mexican resort of Cancun were urged on Tuesday an investigation into the use of guns by police in this week to disperse a feminist protest over the death of a young woman.

Cancun police declined to comment when asked about the use of guns at the protest.

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A journalist was among the unspecified number of people injured when protesters rushed to escape as the shots rang out.

Women protest against the murder of a woman, in front of the City Hall in Cancun, Mexico. AFP

Footage apparently taken by a protester of Monday night’s protest in the tourist hot spot was widely shared on social media. The video shows a group of demonstrators trying to tear down plywood at the entrance of an office building before volleys of semi-automatic gunfire send them running for cover.

At least two reporters were injured during the protests, said Mexico’s Human Rights Commission. It did not say if the injuries were related to the gunshots.

The commission called for a “prompt” investigation and urged the government not to allow the use of live rounds by police at protests.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on Gov. Joaquin to investigate.

Police officers disperse a protest against the murder of a woman in Cancun, Quintana Roo State, Mexico. AFP

"Action should be taken without hesitation," López Obrado said. "Force must not be used, weapons must not be used, opening fire, that is part of authoritarian attitudes that do not fit in the new era.”

Monday evening's demonstration was called to protest the recent killings of women in Quintana Roo, the state where Cancun is located. Earlier in the day, prosecutors announced that the body of a 20-year-old woman had been found in Cancun about two days after she went missing. A total of 58 women were killed in the state in the first nine months of the year, although the motive in most of the cases were not believed to be reasons of gender.