Temixco Mayor Gisela Mota took office on a Friday, eager to take on crime in her community, just 60 miles southwest of Mexico City. But her pledge was tragically cut short one day later, when she was was shot to death at her home.
Two of the presumed gunmen were killed in a police pursuit, while three others were detained, authorities told The Associated Press.
Gov. Graco Ramirez, of Morelos state, where Temixco is located, tweeted that Mota's killing was the result of organized crime. Officials also told the AP that the suspects behind Mota's murder have been linked to other crimes.
The Democratic Revolution Party, of which Mota was a member, said in a statement that Mota was "a strong and brave woman who on taking office as mayor, declared that her fight against crime would be frontal and direct."
Cuernavaca, the capital of Morelos and neighboring city to Temixco, is home to a number of kidnapping and extortion cases connected to organized crime, the AP states. Morelos is also home to drug cartel activity.
Morelos state government said in a statement that the attack on Mota represented "a challenge that organized crime launched against the constitutional and democratic order." Ramirez tweeted that "there will be no impunity" for Mota's killers.
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