Guatemala Bar Shooting Leaves 11 Dead, 15 Injured; Gunmen Opened Fire In 3 Different Bars [VIDEO]

Gunmen in Guatemala opened fired in three different bars in the small town Jose Nachuil just 11-miles outside of Guatemala City. The shooting left 11 people dead and 15 injured in an attack officials blame on gang violence. Locals living in the town believe that the shooting at the three bars were done by corrupt police officers. The town is made up of mostly of an indigenous population, in 2005 Jose Nachuil did away with all Guatemalan police in their town. The locals set up their own security and has the lowest crime rate in Guatemala.

Both the Guatemalan police and the town's security officials are looking into what happened at the three bars. The three establishments are owned by the same person. The shootings were particularly brutal. The bodies of victims were found hiding in storage rooms and bathrooms in attempt to get away from the shooters. A local resident. Marina Ascuc is now a widow as a result of the massacre in Jose Nachuil. She told Aljazeera.com her husband and a friend were traveling in a car that was stolen by the gunmen before the shooting.

"They were travelling in a car and [the shooters] took it from them and killed them," Ascuc said of her husband and friend. Guatemalan police think the owner of all three bars was the intended target. The owner has not been identified but was found among the dead. After the shooting spree the killers fled in a stolen car and have yet to be found. According to CTV News a relative of the bar owner said the owner reported that Guatemalan police showed up to the bar without warning to check the bar's permits.

Reports are saying the police demanded a bribe of $60 in order for them to approve the permits. When the owner refused the officers left after telling the owner to remove all minors from the bar. According to a witness speaking with CTV News, the shooting took place 20-minutes after the police left the bar. "We think the patrol car had something to do with it," said witness Santos Peniado, who lost a cousin in the attack. "[The shooters] showed up 20-minutes after they left and there was the attack. Why didn't they stay and why didn't they arrest the attackers?"

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