Mexican mayor gunned down at bus stop weeks after winning election

JERéCUARO , Mexico, June 24 (UPI) -- Rogelio Sánchez Galán, mayor of the city of Jerécuaro, Mexico, was shot to death Tuesday night at a bus stop less than three weeks after winning the election.

Multiple armed gunmen waited in a vehicle and began shooting after Galán and his cohorts arrived at the bus station some time after 8 p.m. The unidentified gunmen fled the scene.

Local and state authorities have launched an investigation, according to the Guanajuato state attorney's office.

Mexico suffered from the third-most assassinations of mayors worldwide last year, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Galán won his mayoral position in Mexico's midterm elections earlier this month, which had the highest turnout for midterm elections since 1997.

There have been more than 20 political assassinations throughout Mexico since October, including the death of mayoral candidate Aidé Nava, who was found decapitated in March. Many assassinations are linked to pervasive, violent drug cartels and corrupt government officials.