MEXICO CITY (AP) — A journalist was shot dead in the southern state of Oaxaca on Thursday, the fifth killed this year in Mexico.
State authorities said Heber López, director of the online news site Noticias Web, was killed at his office in the port city of Salina Cruz.
The Oaxaca state prosecutor's office said that two suspects in the killing were in custody and that a gun had been recovered from them.
Rodolfo Canseco Gutiérrez, director of the online news site RCP Noticias and a longtime friend of López's, said the journalist covered crime and police news.
According to the Associated Press, the shooting occurred at around 6:30 p.m., as López was in his office when a white vehicle carrying two men pulled up in front. A man got out, walked into the office, and shot him.
López's murder follows those of four journalists in January.
On Jan. 31, a camera operator for Monitor Michoacan, Roberto Toledo, was shot as he prepared for an interview in Zitacuaro, Michoacan, the news outlet reported.
Two journalists, Margarito Martínez and Lourdes Maldonado López, were both fatally shot in Tijuana. Martinez on Jan. 17 outside his home and López was found dead inside her car on Jan. 23, the AP reported.
According to the AP, on Jan. 10, reporter José Luis Gamboa was killed in an attack in Veracruz.
The AP reported that for the past 10 years, Mexico had had federal protections in place for journalists. Associated Press reports.
The news outlet reported around 500 journalists and 1,000 activists enrolled in the program.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, 10 journalists enrolled in the program have been killed in the past five years.