Forgotten gay club massacre in Mexico comes to light

It’s been revealed that a number of people were killed in another gay club shooting, this time in Mexico.

The attack took place on 22 May but failed to capture the same attention in the English media as Sunday’s Orlando massacre.

According to the Latin American Herald Tribune, gunmen who arrived on motorbikes launched the attack on the Madame club in the city of Xalapa, killing five people and inuring seven.

Some of the victims were gunned down outside the venue while others were shot inside. Seven others were wounded in the attack.

There is, however, scepticism about the actual number of victims, with suggestions that the government has not revealed the full extent of the killings. Some reports now say that between seven and 15 people were killed.

“They had no mercy. Bullets ricocheted everywhere. The white tiles were stained red. And those who wanted to escape slipped in the blood… It was a slaughterhouse,” Luis Manuel Rivera Aguilar, uncle of victim Luis Donaldo Rivera Calderon, told Sinembargo.

In a post on Instagram, the staff and management of the club wrote: “We were victims of an attack, it could happen to anybody. Unfortunately it happened to us.

“Still awaiting the scope of the facts… We are in the hands of God. We thank all our customers over the past seven years who have become friends and family. Thank you for your messages and we ask for your prayers for the victims.”

The government has indicated that the attack was as a result of ongoing disputes between drug cartels and the authorities. It’s not clear to what extent homophobia played a role in the incident. The gunmen remain at large.

This week, an official at the Ministry of Development and Social Integration in the Mexican state of Jalisco, was fired for applauding the Orlando massacre on Facebook.

José de Jesús Manzo Corona, wrote: “Too bad it was 50, not 100″ [that were killed].