Announcer Reynaldo López and reporter Carlos Cota, former sports producer of the Televisa network in Sonora were shot at over 14 times, with Lopez eventually sucumbbing to his injuries.
The National Commission for Human Rights (CNDH) reported in a press release that at least 14 shots were fired at the duo after an ambush in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora.
The two journalists were driving along an avenue in the city when they were apprehended by unknown men carrying machine guns. The men immediately began opening fire, unleashing a barrage of bullets on the two media officials and the Chevrolet they were riding in.
CNDH condemned the aggression against the communicators and asked the government of Sonora to provide the required treatment to the stricken Cota, as well as ensuring the safety of the families of both victims.
The Commission highlighted that López’s murder meant he was the 144th journalist to be killed in Mexico since 2000, and the third in 2019 after the assassinations of José Rafael Murúa Manríquez, in January in the northwestern state of Baja California Sur; and Jesús Eugenio Ramos, in February in the southeastern state of Tabasco.