Mexican authorities have confirmed that 10 people were killed in an early-morning shooting in Tehuitzingo, a municipality in the central state of Puebla.
The Puebla state government said Sunday that the victims were six men, three women and a minor. They were allegedly attacked by armed individuals inside a residence. No arrests had been announced by mid-morning, and officials said the motive remained under investigation.
The Puebla Attorney General’s Office said municipal police went to the property after receiving a citizen’s report that several people appeared to be dead. Officers found multiple victims with gunshot wounds, while one woman died while being transported for medical treatment.
Local media reported that the shooting occurred at about 1:55 a.m., after neighbours heard gunfire. Authorities have pledged a coordinated response involving the National Guard, state and local police, the Attorney General’s Office and intelligence units.
Tehuitzingo, a town of about 11,000 residents located roughly 208 kilometres south of Mexico City, is not one of the country’s most internationally known violence hotspots, but the attack underscores the persistence of armed crime beyond Mexico’s major cartel battlegrounds.
The killings come less than a month before Mexico co-hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup with the United States and Canada. Mexico is scheduled to host 13 matches in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, with the opening game set for June 11 in Mexico City.
President Claudia Sheinbaum’s government has announced a major World Cup security plan, known as Plan Kukulkán, involving nearly 100,000 security personnel, including National Guard troops, police and private security workers across the host cities.
Although Puebla is not among the host states, recent high-profile violence has kept Mexico’s security situation under close scrutiny ahead of the tournament. Officials have insisted that security planning with FIFA and local authorities remains on track.
Mexico recorded a decline in homicides in 2025, but analysts warn that the figures are complicated by widespread disappearances and continuing cartel influence in many regions.
For now, investigators in Puebla are working to identify the attackers and determine whether the Tehuitzingo killings were linked to organised crime, a local dispute or another motive.
