A journalist was shot dead by a stranger in the Mexican state of Veracruz in the middle of a Christmas party at his son's school, and his death turned 2017 into the deadliest year in history for media workers in Mexico.
Gumaro Perez, 35, who often covered public safety and drug trafficking, was shot four times and died in Akayukan.
He was the third journalist killed in the State of Veracruz this year and the twelfth in total in Mexico in 2017.
Peres worked for the media Golfo Sur and Voz del Sur, among others.
"We are shocked, we are waiting for his body to be delivered and we will see what we will do with his family," said Perez, a member of the Association of Independent Journalists (APIA), of which Peres was a member.
The killer, who acted alone, according to eyewitnesses, entered the classroom of his six-year-old son Peres where the school was celebrating for Christmas and cold-bloodedly shot the journalist, the Union reported.
According to the 2017 Reporters Without Borders (RSF) NGO report released earlier on Tuesday, at least 65 journalists, including 50 professionals, were killed while doing their job this year and Mexico was a one of the most dangerous countries in the world for people who practice this profession. With the death of Gumaro Perez, the number rises to 66.
Since 2000, at least 111 journalists and media workers have been killed in Mexico, with 38 deaths since Enrique Pena Nieto took office in December 2012, according to Article 19.