Gunmen opened fire at a prison in Mexico early on Sunday morning, leaving 14 dead and at least 24 prisoners free.
Gunfire broke out between an undisclosed number of prisoners and guards after numerous armored vehicles arrived at a state prison in Ciudad Juárez at 7 a.m., according to a statement from the Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office acquired by ABC News, according to NPR. Cruz Pérez Cuéllar, the mayor of Juárez, told the local media that these assailants had entered the prison.
According to Reuters, 10 of the 14 fatalities were security personnel, while four were prisoners. 13 more prisoners suffered injuries.
Minutes before the shooting inside the prison, there was apparently an attack on local police in the area. Two drivers were slain in a different area of the city after the events at the prison. Mexican armed forces, the national guard, and neighborhood police were able to control the situation by Sunday afternoon. A truck was seized, and four guys were apprehended.
At the time, it was unclear whether the two distinct occurrences and the attack on the prison were related.
According to NPR, authorities believe the attack was carried out by members of the Mexicles, an organized crime gang that has a history of carrying out such assaults across the city of Juárez on orders received from within the prison.