México: Intentional fire kills 11 at bar near US border

MEXICO CITY — Eleven people were killed — including an American — and six others were wounded at a bar on Mexico's northern border early Saturday as dozens of people were enjoying live music when a man, who had been kicked out for harassing women, returned and set fire to the venue, according to local authorities.

The incident took place in the city of San Luis Rio Colorado, on the border with Arizona, around 1:30 a.m. local time. Among those killed were seven men and four women, including some members of the music group that played in the bar, Gustavo Romulo Salas, prosecutor for the state of Sonora, said at a news conference. Most died of smoke inhalation, he added.

In a second news conference on Saturday afternoon, he confirmed that among the dead were a woman from the United States, and a 17-year-old boy months shy of turning 18. He also announced the arrest of the alleged assailant at a military checkpoint.

First indications were that the attacker had thrown a kind of Molotov bomb, but Salas explained that after being removed from the bar drunk and very upset, the man went to his truck, parked it in front of the venue, extracted fuel from it, sprayed the door of the establishment and with a kind of blowtorch started the fire.

"Immediately the flames spread... generating chaos, smoke and electricity was interrupted," said the prosecutor, who estimated that there were between 50 and 80 people inside the bar, although the investigation is still underway and information could vary. The security cameras on the premises were burned.

Images posted on social media showed huge flames and people outside shouting desperately: "There are people inside!"

According to witnesses, the attacker was apparently a highly intoxicated young man who was disrespecting women in that bar and who had been kicked out from another nightclub that same night for another fight.

Salas said firefighters arrived quickly and pulled the victims out through the front door and a back door. The bar had a third exit and the authorities are investigating whether it had all the permits in order.

Ten people died at the scene and another in hospital. Of the other six injured, as of Saturday afternoon, there was one hospitalized in Sonora, three had crossed into the United States to be treated there and the rest were discharged, the prosecutor said.

Salas also stressed that evidence indicates the fire was caused by "an isolated aggressor" and "there is no element or evidence to suggest that the attack was linked to the payment of extortion."

The assailant left the truck and tried to escape the area in a vehicle belonging to a relative of his, along with a woman, but was identified and arrested at a military checkpoint.

The governor of Sonora, Alfonso Durazo, offered thanks via Twitter for the support given by the local, state and federal security forces and assured that there will be no impunity in this crime.

San Luis Rio Colorado is a city in the middle of the desert that stretches between Sonora and Arizona and is a common crossing point for migrants who cross into the United States, both legally and illegally.

The Sonora prosecutor ruled out any link between the bar fire and organized crime, but various criminal groups operate in the border area and use it to smuggle drugs, weapons and migrants.

On Saturday, the National Guard reported in a statement the seizure of 250 liters of liquid methamphetamine that was transported in a truck from southern Sonora and that were destined for the border city of Mexicali, capital of the neighboring state of Baja California.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: México: Intentional fire kills 11 at Sonora bar near US border