Salamanca, Mexico – Eleven people were killed and 12 others seriously injured in a shocking shooting incident at a local soccer field in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. The attack, which unfolded on a peaceful Sunday afternoon on January 25, 2026, saw families caught in a deadly attack immediately following a community soccer game.
In a statement, Salamanca Mayor Cesar Prieto confirmed that the assailants arrived in several vehicles and opened fire as people lingered on the field after the match. The gunmen discharged about 100 shots, creating chaos and panic among the families present.
Most victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Only one succumbed later to injuries in the hospital. Among the injured were a woman and a child, with other casualties still battling life-threatening injuries.
The Mayor appealed to the federal government, particularly to President Claudia Sheinbaum, for immediate reinforcement and discussed the persistent threat of criminal groups in the area. “Criminal groups will not succeed in their attempts to dominate,” Prieto asserted, indicating an ongoing struggle to establish safety and order in Salamanca.
This mass shooting adds to a growing list of violent episodes in the city, which came just a day after another violent incident in Salamanca where five were killed and one person was kidnapped.
Authorities have launched a full investigation into the massacre, which remains without a clear motive, as security forces intensify their presence in the affected neighborhood. Guanajuato, a central Mexican state, has frequently topped national charts for homicides, with much of the violence attributed to warring drug cartels.
Salamanca has been a hotbed for violence due to disputes between two major factions – the Jalisco New Generation Cartel and the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel. These groups have starkly impacted the region with illegal enterprises such as drug trafficking, fuel theft from pipelines, and widespread extortion.
The federal government has recognized the strategic significance of Salamanca, largely due to its oil refinery operated by Pemex, which has been targeted for fuel theft by criminal organizations aiming to finance their illicit operations.
In efforts to curb cartel power, both Mexican and U.S. authorities have taken significant measures against these groups. Former U.S. President Donald Trump escalated actions by designating the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and imposing sanctions on the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel.
Moreover, cooperative security efforts between Mexico and the United States have increased, notably with the extradition of numerous high-profile suspects from Mexico and multiple U.S. strikes targeting drug trafficking operations at sea.
Despite these efforts, and a noted decrease in the national murder rate in 2025 to the lowest since 2016, public events and community spaces have increasingly become targets of cartel violence, undermining the longstanding tradition of safety in public gatherings.
As investigations continue, the attack at the soccer field has not only shocked Salamanca but also magnified concerns over the safety of innocuous community spots where families and friends come together, highlighting the brazenness with which criminal elements are willing to intrude into civilian life.