American killed in southern Mexico beach destination

MEXICO CITY – A U.S. citizen was shot and killed in the Pacific resort town of Zihuatanejo in southern Mexico, authorities said Friday.

Guerrero state’s security co-ordinating group said in a statement the American tourist identified only by the first name Douglas was shot three times. No hometown or further details of the killing were provided.

Also in Guerrero, a masked gunman assassinated the mayor of the town of Petatlan. State police identified the mayor as Arturo Gomez Perez.

The office said Friday that the lone gunman hit Gomez Perez with three bullets as he ate at a restaurant in Petatlan.

Guerrero was one of the most violent states in Mexico in the first 11 months of 2017, with a homicide rate of 58.6 per 100,000 people.

At least 54 mayors or mayors-elect have been killed in Mexico since 2006, often by drug gangs or corrupt police.

On Thursday, a state legislator was shot to death on a highway in the western state of Jalisco. He was the second politician killed in Jalisco in a week.