MEXICO CITY, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Five police officers and two development bank staff were murdered on Tuesday by assailants who stole social security money in Ahacuotzingo, in the southern state of Guerrero.
The state government issued a statement that police officers and workers at a federal savings bank (Bansefi) were intercepted at 9 am, when they drove in official vehicles on a country road.
Guerrero's security spokesperson, Roberto Alvarez Heredia, wrote that the armed robbers stole 977,000 pesos (about 54,985 U.S. dollars) belonging to the Prospera social inclusion program, which were set to be delivered to officials in various communities around the area.
After killing the seven people and stealing the money, the gang fled and no information is known about their current whereabouts, according to the statement.
Alvarez Heredia stated that soldiers and state police had been deployed to hunt for the criminals, after one Bansefi employee, who was wounded in the attack, reported the crime. The state's prosecutor-general has opened an investigation.
Prospera is a program from the Ministry of Social Development which helps over 6 million families living in poverty with financial aid and other social help.
