Mexican journalist unhurt in first attack on media in 2023

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A journalist in northern Mexico escaped unharmed after a gunman attacked his family’s vehicle in the border state of Sonora in the first reported attempt on the life of a journalist in the country in the new year.

Sunday’s attack, the first day of 2023, came after Mexico suffered its worst year of journalist killings in three decades, with at least 15 murders.

The media site La Nota Prensa De Sonora reported that its director, Omar Castro, was attacked on a street in the city of Ciudad Obregon.

Castro was traveling with his daughter and a nephew when bullets were fired at his SUV. The SUV had a La Nota Prensa De Sonora sign on it.

The site reported that the attacker shouted, “I’m going to kill you!” He also posted photos of the bullet-scarred vehicle.

La Nota Prensa De Sonora mainly reports on local politics, as well as entertainment and other news.

Last year, many of the journalists murdered were small-town reporters who ran their own media on a shoestring budget. Others were freelancers, including for national publications, in big cities like Tijuana.

On December 15, two gunmen on motorcycles shot at the armored vehicle of prominent radio and television journalist Ciro Gómez Leyva near his home in Mexico City. The journalist described the attack and posted photos of his vehicle on social media.