2 police officers killed in armed attack at Hidalgo mayor's home in Mexico

Two police officers were killed early Saturday when armed men broke into the home of Francisco Martínez Enríquez, the mayor of Tepehuacán de Guerrero in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, and attacked municipal police officers, authorities said.

According to a statement from the municipal government, at least four armed individuals entered the mayor's residence in an apparent robbery attempt. Juan Carlos Ortiz Solares, the eastern deputy prosecutor of the Hidalgo State Attorney General's Office, said at a press conference that the attackers smashed the front door with a sledgehammer and were searching for a safe.

One officer was shot dead at the scene, while a second was wounded and later died in hospital, Ortiz Solares said. Two other officers were found inside the home, one of them bound. At least three of the attackers have been identified, though authorities did not disclose further details about the investigation.

The municipal government condemned the attack and offered condolences to the families of the slain officers. Martínez Enríquez, a member of the ruling Morena party, said he did not know who was behind the assault, calling it lamentable that a mayor must again guard against unknown threats. He said he had been targeted in attacks in 2004 and 2008, with 12 people arrested in the first incident.