Mexican Politician Shot Dead While Posing for Selfie

His murder was caught on video
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 12, 2018 5:01 PM CDT

As Fernando Purón, a Mexican congressional candidate, left an election debate Friday, a woman asked him to stop for a selfie. As the pair posed, a man walked up behind them and shot Purón in the head in a horrifying scene caught on surveillance video, the Guardian reports. His murder highlights the risks to lawmakers as violence in the country increases; since Sept. 2017, 111 other politicians have been murdered in Mexico, and more violence is expected in the run-up to the country's July elections. It's not clear why Purón was targeted, but drug cartels are suspected in many political murders and he was said to have been on the wrong side of the Zetas crime group when he was mayor of Piedras Negras. During the debate Friday, he had promised to fight back against organized crime. (More Mexico stories.)

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