Mexican journalist Pablo Morrugares shot dead in Iguala

Emergency officials stand outside a bar after gunmen shot dead a journalist early on Sunday in the Mexican city of Iguala in the southwestern state of Guerrero, according to local authorities, August 2, 2020, in this still image taken from video obtained from social mediaImage copyright
Reuters

Image caption

Pablo Morrugares was shot inside a restaurant in the centre of town

A Mexican journalist has been killed by gunmen who stormed the restaurant where he was having dinner in the city of Iguala.

Paulo Morrugares had been assigned a bodyguard after he and his wife survived a similar attack in 2016.

His bodyguard was also shot dead.

Mr Morrugares was the editor of PM Noticias, an online publication focusing on crime and police news in central Guerrero state, one of Mexico’s most violent areas.

Pressure group Reporters Without Borders says he is the fourth journalist to be killed in Mexico this year while the Federation of Latin American Journalists puts the figure at seven.

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The attack happened after midnight local time (05:00 GMT) in Iguala.

The city hit the news in 2014 when 43 students disappeared after a trip to Iguala, where they had clashed with police.

The remains of only two of the students have so far been found and a fresh investigations into their disappearance has been launched.

The motive for the attack on Mr Morrugares was not clear but journalists, especially those covering the crime beat, have been targeted in Mexico in the past.

The Mexican Association of Displaced and Attacked Journalists said that Mr Morrugares had been threatened only two months ago.

Mexican journalists have been expressing their shock at his killing.

source: bbc.com