- José Freire; Bryan Amoles; Jesus Orozco; Fabián Orozco and Pedro Mateos were killed on Sunday in Celaya, a city in the north-central Mexican state of Guanajuato
- The victims studied medicine at the Latina University of Mexico
- The students were beaten and shot and found in an abandoned school
Five medical students were found shot dead in an abandoned vehicle in the north-central Mexican state of Guanajuato.
The students were located by the National Guard on Sunday evening on a rural road on the outskirts of the municipality of Celaya.
They were identified as José Freire; Bryan Amoles; Jesús Orozco and Fabián Orozco, brothers; and their cousin, Pedro Mateos.
The students' bodies showed signs of violence and were shot in the head, local media reported.
In a separate incident, a sixth student was found dead on Monday evening. The victim's name and gender have not been released.
Five medical students were shot in the head and their bodies were left in an abandoned car in Mexico
José Freire, who was studying to be a pediatrician, was murdered along with five medical students in the city of Celaya, in central Mexico, which was plagued by cartel violence.
Pedro Mateos (left) and his cousin Jesús Orozco (right) were among five university students found dead in a vehicle in Celaya, Mexico on Sunday
Fabián Orozco (left) and Bryan Amoles (right) were two of the victims found dead in the car
“The Latina University of Mexico deeply regrets the events and strongly condemns the violence perpetrated against everyone, especially our children and youth,” the school said.
The victims were last heard from around 2 p.m. Sunday, when one of the students informed their family of their return to Celaya after traveling for a weekend party in nearby Queretaró state.
Police received a 911 call about bodies left in a car on a road next to the University of Guanajuato's Celaya Campus at 6:30 p.m.
Investigators from Guanajuato's attorney general analyzed cellphone data, which showed the students were near the cities of La Cruz and Santa Rosa de Lima, news outlet Milenio reported.
It is not known whether the students were murdered where they were left.
The mother of Jesús Orozco and Fabián Orozco is the former director of the center of the National System for Integral Family Development in Celaya. Jesús Orozco was studying to be a surgeon and his brother was just going to school.
It is not known whether the students were murdered where they were left
Mateos specialized in pediatrics and Amoles studied to become a surgeon. Freire focused on becoming a pediatrician.
Celaya, located northwest of the capital Mexico City, has been plagued by violence fueled by rival drug cartels for years.
In June, a drug cartel detonated a car bomb in Celaya targeting law enforcement, killing a National Guard officer.
In that case, National Guard officers reportedly responded to information about a car parked with what appeared to be bodies inside. As they got closer, the vehicle exploded, causing officers to flee.
Authorities blamed the Santa Rosa de Lima Cartel, which waged a bloody war with the Jalisco New Generation Cartel for years, for taking control of Guanajuato.