Mayor Gisela Mota was assassinated at her residence, hours after taking over as the new mayor of Temixco, Mexico. Mota, 33, had been sworn in on Jan. 1 and was beaten and shot in the head the following day.
Officials feel the cause of her murder is organized crime, which is prevalent in the city. Mota was described as "a strong and brave woman who on taking office as mayor, declared that her fight against crime would be frontal and direct," by her party, the leftist Democratic Revolution Party, according to the Daily Mail.
After Mota's death, two suspects were killed in a gun battle with the police, while three others, a 32-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man and a minor have been arrested.
"One theory could be that it was a warning to the other mayors. If you don't cooperate with organized crime, look at what will happen to you. It's to scare them," said Ramon Castro Castro, the Roman Catholic bishop of Cuernavaca, giving his opinion on the reason behind Mota's violent death, reports FOX News.
Morelos' state prosecutor, Javier Pérez Durón, announced during a press conference that Mota's killers would face "the full weight of the law," reports Los Angeles Times.
Meanwhile, Graco Ramirez, the governor of the state of Morelos, announced three days of official mourning following Mota's death.
This is not the first gang related political killing in Mexico. , about a 100 local elected officials have been killed in the country over the past decade, according to the Association of Local Mexican Authorities.
