Acapulco Shootout Leaves 16 Dead
| Associated Press
ACAPULCO, Mexico -- Soldiers fought for two hours with armed men apparently
holding police hostage at a house in Acapulco, leaving one soldier and 15
gunmen dead, a military official said Sunday.
Three soldiers and three Mexican bystanders were wounded. Several Mexican
tourists were evacuated from small hotels in the old Acapulco neighborhood,
which was once popular with Hollywood stars but has since become run-down.
The gunbattle erupted Saturday night when soldiers received a tip about the
presence of armed men at a gated house, said an army colonel who led the
operation and spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The gunmen opened fire and hurled some 50 grenades at soldiers who arrived
at the house, according to the colonel, who wore a ski mask as he led
reporters through the scene.
Several gunmen tried to flee, but crashed their car into a Humvee blocking
the gate. At one point during the fighting, armed men with grenades arrived
in a car to reinforce the gunmen in the house, but they died in the
shooting, the colonel said.
Soldiers found four Guerrero state police officers handcuffed inside the
garage of the house, the colonel said. The officers, who were still bound
and sitting the floor when reporters arrived, said they were being held
captive by the gunmen, the colonel said.
The soldiers did not know the police were inside when the shootout began,
and the colonel said their claims would be investigated.
"We found them like this, handcuffed, and they say they were kidnapped. So,
if they were kidnapped, as they say, then we rescued them," the colonel
said, pointing to the four men.
Residents cowered inside their homes and several small, low-cost hotels
while the fighting lasted. When the shooting subsided, several people too
scared to stay in the area were evacuated in an ambulance.
Copyright © 2009 Associated Press
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