Mexican mayor shot dead inside city hall

A mayor was shot and killed inside a city hall in central Mexico, according to prosecutors and local media. He had previously survived an attempted assassination earlier this year.

Two armed men entered the municipal government building in Temoac, in the state of Morelos, on Wednesday and opened fire on Mayor Valentín Lavín Romero. The gunmen escaped on a motorcycle.

The Morelos Attorney General’s Office said Lavín died inside the building. Prosecutors, investigators and forensic teams were sent to the scene.

Security forces launched a search across Temoac and surrounding communities, but no arrests have been announced. Authorities have not disclosed a possible motive.

Lavín had survived an assassination attempt in January. El Financiero reported that state authorities had also been investigating suspected criminal activity involving people around him, but prosecutors have not linked Wednesday’s killing to a particular group.

Lavín is the third mayor killed in Mexico so far this year. The other two were mayors in the southern state of Oaxaca.

In November 2025, Uruapan Mayor Carlos Manzo was shot and killed during a public Day of the Dead celebration in Michoacán state, leading to widespread protests across Mexico over political violence and insecurity.