Land Dispute Is Blamed for Mexico Deaths

MEXICO CITY — Officials said Wednesday that a dispute over land was behind the shooting deaths of five people--including a 101-year-old man--on a mountain road in western Mexico over the weekend.

Nayarit state Atty. Gen. Jorge Armando Banuelos Ahumada said investigators had ruled out political or drug-related motives in the Sunday shootings. “These events were caused by deeply rooted hostility between families,” he said.

Gunmen with automatic weapons waited along a road and opened fire on a truck carrying 15 people returning from a political rally for a mayoral candidate in Huajicori, about 445 miles northwest of Mexico City.

Five people died, including centenarian Felipe Aguilar Hernandez. With local elections set for next Sunday, speculation had focused on a possible political motive. A spokesman for the attorney general said police arrested a suspect and were seeking two others.