Four journalists were shot dead in southern Mexico

It is the latest in a string of attacks that have made the country one of the most dangerous for journalists.

Gunmen riding motorcycles opened fire on three journalists in Chilpancingo, the capital of Guerrero state, around noon, where they were reporting on the murder, the local prosecutor’s office said.

According to prosecutors, the journalists – Jesus Antonio de la Cruz, Oscar Guerrero and Victor Mateus Francisco – suffered back, arm and neck injuries.

The non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said they were all in stable condition.

“RSF calls on the authorities to take immediate action to ensure the safety of themselves and their families,” the organization said on the X social network.

According to RSF, the three journalists produce political and crime reports for different local media outlets.

A fourth journalist was wounded in the shooting in Apacingan, in the neighboring state of Michoacán, local police said.

Maynor Ramon Ramirez, an employee of the local news portal ABC, who survived an attack in 2016, was hospitalized.

The shooting incident comes a week after three other journalists were kidnapped and later released in Tuske, in the same state of Guerrero.

According to RSF, Mexico has long been considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.

This month, photojournalist Ismael Villagomez was shot and killed in Ciudad Juarez, on Mexico’s border with the United States.

Three suspects have been arrested in connection with his murder.

At least five more journalists have been killed in Mexico this year, according to RSF, and more than 150 since the 2000s.