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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | August 2005 
Cockfight Blast Kills Four
 Luis Carlos Sainz - Associated Press
| | Two grenades were let off at the crowded event, possibly as part of drug smugglers' settling of accounts. |
Tonala, Mexico – Two assailants lobbed grenades into a crowded cockfighting ring before dawn Monday in this western Mexican city, killing four people and wounding 25 others, four critically, state investigators said.
Two people were killed at the scene of the attack and two more died while receiving medical treatment, said Gerardo Octavio Solis, attorney general for Jalisco state. The ring was located at a racetrack in Tonala, located outside Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city.
The explosions tossed chairs and sent onlookers fleeing from the scene, which was strewn with blood. Police and military officials guarded the site midday Monday.
Solis said 25 of the more than 100 people who attended the cockfight were injured. Federal and state authorities were investigating and hunting for two attackers.
Witnesses had earlier told police they heard gunfire during the explosions. Solis said investigators had recovered only two shell casings, suggesting that gunfire was limited.
Police in Tonala originally said the cockfight was illegal. But Solis said authorities recovered various permission forms from federal authorities, indicating it may have been a sanctioned fight.
Authorities were questioning dozens of witnesses and detained five people who tried to rescue one of those injured from the hospital. No arrests had yet to be made, however, Solis said.
Speaking at a news conference in Guadalajara, the state attorney general refused to comment on reports that the attack targeted Mexico's Milenio drug smuggling cartel, which is believed to be headquartered in the central state of Michoacan.
Police impounded 40 vehicles from the horse track's parking area, many with license plates from neighboring Michoacan state. Some of those injured had the last name Valencia, the same as members of a family believed to head the smuggling gang.
Located about 265 miles (425 kilometers) northwest of Mexico City, Tonala is popular with tourists who visit its sprawling, open-air markets. |
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