6 men killed, 2 wounded in drive-by shooting near kindergarten in northern Mexico border town

6 killed in shooting near kindergarten in Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Gunmen killed six men Friday and wounded two more in a drive-by shooting near a kindergarten in a northern Mexico region besieged by drug gang battles.

Gunmen in a car opened fire on a van carrying eight men, Chihuahua state prosecutors’ spokesman Arturo Sandoval said. Investigators said more than 100 shots were fired at the scene, on a highway in Loma Blanca, a small town outside the border city of Ciudad Juarez.

Dozens of children were outside the nearby school for recess. The children panicked but no one was hurt

Towns outside Ciudad Juarez, which sits across from El Paso, Texas, have been terrorized by shootings and torching of homes. Many residents have fled, often heading across the border into the U.S.

Also Friday, police in the southern state of Chiapas reported that four policemen were killed and two others seriously wounded when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying payments for a government anti-poverty program.

Police were able to drive off the assailants, who blocked the road with rocks and opened fire on the government vehicles Thursday. The gunmen were apparently trying to rob the payroll of Oportunidades, a government cash-support program for poor families.

Also Friday, prosecutors said a federal judge ordered two Colombians to stand trial on money laundering charges. They were arrested at Mexico City’s international airport May 4 as they allegedly prepared to board a flight to Panama trying to smuggle out more than $350,000 in cash in various currencies.