Gunmen Open Fire at Stadium During Football Match, Killing 11 and Injuring 12

At least 11 people were killed and 12 others injured when gunmen opened fire during a football match at Campos de las Cabañas stadium in the Loma de Flores community of Salamanca, Guanajuato, on Sunday evening.

The attack occurred around 17:20 local time, when armed men arrived in two pickup trucks. Four of the attackers reportedly exited the vehicles and fired indiscriminately at spectators before fleeing toward the nearby city of Irapuato. Authorities recovered over 100 bullet casings at the scene.

Local officials confirmed that ten people died at the stadium, while one more succumbed to injuries in hospital. Some media reports suggested the death toll could be higher, ranging from 14 to 23. Residents said gunfire could be heard as far as 15 kilometers away. Emergency services dispatched at least five ambulances to treat and transport the wounded.

Salamanca police, together with the National Guard, state police, and military forces, launched a manhunt and secured the area. The Guanajuato state attorney’s office has begun a formal investigation, but no arrests have been reported so far.

The attack is suspected to involve the criminal group “La Marrisa,” linked to the Santa Rosa de Lima cartel. The cartel’s leader, José Antonio Yépez Ortiz, also known as “El Marro,” is currently imprisoned in a high-security federal facility in Durango. U.S. authorities have reported that he continues to direct criminal operations from prison through intermediaries. The cartel is known for oil theft and other illicit activities, in addition to drug trafficking.

This incident follows other violent attacks in Salamanca, including two incidents on Saturday that resulted in five deaths and one missing person. Guanajuato has become one of Mexico’s deadliest states, reporting 58 intentional homicides between 19 and 24 January 2026 alone. In the first 11 months of 2025, more than 7,600 serious crimes were recorded, largely due to ongoing conflicts between the Santa Rosa de Lima and Jalisco Nueva Generación cartels.