Mexican mayor shot dead

MEXICO CITY - A mayor in a Mexican town was shot dead by gunmen, authorities said.

Marco Antonio Leal Garcia, mayor of Hidalgo town, was attacked when he was travelling in his SUV, the office of Mexican President Felipe Calderon said in a statement Sunday. His daughter was wounded.

Drug gang members are suspected to be behind the killing.

“This cowardly crime and the reprehensible violent events recently in the region strengthen our commitment to continue fighting the criminal groups that seek to terrify families (in Tamaulipas),” Xinhua quoted Calderon as saying in a statement.

This is the second killing of a mayor in the area. Roldolfo Torre Cantu, a candidate for governor in Tamaulipas state, was gunned down in June.