400 murders this year in Juarez, Mexico — city bordering Texas

Once named the murder capital of the world, Juarez, Mexico, has seen 400 murders so far in 2022, as drug violence sweeps the troubled border city again, according to local reports.

In the last month alone, 60 people have been killed, including a four-person hit at a Denny’s in the town, which sits across the Rio Grande river from El Paso, Texas, reports the El Paso Times.

Several gunman walked into a busy restaurant at lunch time and fired into the the dining room. Frightened patrons took cover under their tables a video obtained by KFOX-TV shows.

The wave of violence is being blamed on feuding drug gangs, say state officials. Currently the Sinaloa, Juarez and Jalisco New Generation cartels are all vying for control of Juarez, an important gateway into the United States. In May, 107 homicides were reported, most of them linked to cartel violence.

In another recent massacre, five people, including a 17-year-old were killed in a home in Juarez, however, an 8 and 10-year-old were spared, reported the Times.

The governor of Chihuahua deployed state police and a dedicated law enforcement helicopter to patrol Juárez after the Denny’s shooting. The reinforcements will keep watch over shopping areas, restaurants, bars and nightclubs. 

The cartel violence is spreading to other parts of Chihuahua where two priests and a tour guide were murdered by local members of the Sinaloa drug cartel.