TEGUCIGALPA – At least 14 people were killed and several others wounded when gunmen opened fire on them as they watched a soccer match in a neighborhood in San Pedro Sula, a city in northern Honduras, National Police spokesman Leonel Sauceda said.
Nine people were pronounced dead at the scene, four others died while being transported to Mario Catarino Rivas Hospital and one died at the hospital, Sauceda and Deputy Security Minister Armando Calidonio said.
The massacre occurred at a soccer field in Felipe Zelaya, a poor neighborhood with a high crime rate in the northeastern section of San Pedro Sula, located about 243 kilometers (150 miles) north of Tegucigalpa.
A group of unidentified individuals arrived at the soccer field and fired “a large number of shots” at the victims, the majority of whom were young, Calidonio said, citing statements from eyewitnesses and the preliminary investigation.
A large number of bullet casings from AK-47 assault rifles and a 9 mm pistol were found at the crime scene, Calidonio said.
Investigators are trying to determine the motive for the massacre, the deputy security minister said.
“As of now, all we know is that there was a group looking for another group,” Calidonio said, without providing additional details.
