Security officer dies in Mexican shootout

MORELIA, Mexico, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The No. 2 security officer in the home state of Mexican President Felipe Calderon was among four people killed in a gun battle, a government official said.

Jose Manuel Revuelta Lopez, deputy public safety secretary of Michoacan state, was killed in a shootout in which two of his bodyguards and a bystander caught in the crossfire also were killed, CNN reported Thursday.

Revuelta was leaving his office in the state capital, Morelia, when the shooting occurred, Michoacan state spokesman Jesus Humberto Adame Ortiz said.

Adame said police haven't identified suspects nor determined a motive.

Mexico has been subjected to a wave of violence since Calderon declared war on drug cartels shortly after taking office in December 2006, CNN said. More than 10,000 people have died, about 1,000 of them police officers.