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MEXICO CITY, July 23 (Xinhua) -- The mayor of San Juan Chamula, a small town in Mexico's southern state of Chiapas, and four others were shot dead early Saturday during a protest by angry residents.
Mayor Domingo Lopez Gonzalez and the four others were killed when several protesters among those gathering at the town's central square fired their weapons, according to state officials.
At least two other town officials, Narciso Lunes Hernandez and Miguel Lopez Gomez, as well as a motorist and a resident, were also killed, the Mexico City daily La Jornada reported.
"The protesters were airing different complaints, when several individuals fired their weapons, wounding the mayor," the state attorney general's office said in a statement.
Residents from some 35 different districts gathered at the square from 7 a.m., demanding speaking with the mayor, according to local reports.
Lopez became mayor in 2015, after running as the candidate of Mexico's Green Party (PVEM).
La Jornada reported that Chamula residents who asked to remain anonymous said the shooters were militants of Mexico's ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, to which the mayor belonged before becoming a candidate of the PVEM.
An indigenous hilltop town popular among tourists for preserving its traditional customs and way of life, Chamula is home to some 77,000 residents, mostly belonging to the Tzotzil Maya indigenous community.
Officials are investigating the incident, the state attorney general's office said. Enditem
