Gunmen kill the mayor of a small Mexican town and 3 others in a highway attack

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Gunmen have killed the mayor of a small Mexican town along with three other people in a highway attack on their vehicle, authorities said Monday.

The federal public safety department said the killings occurred late Sunday in the northern state of San Luis Potosi. Among the dead was the mayor of Tancanhuitz, Jesús Franco Lárraga. There was no immediate information on the identities of the other three.

Authorities said the possible motive in the attack was under investigation. The town is in the largely rural Huasteca region.

The attack was the latest in a series of killings of public officials in Mexico.

Last week, gunmen killed a state judge in the violence-wracked Pacific coast resort of Acapulco. Two days earlier, assailants in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz shot to death a federal congressman.

The motives for killings of mayors in Mexico have included political differences, conflicts over corruption and drug cartel pressure on local officials.