A gunman shot and killed his wife and mother-in-law Tuesday inside the offices of a Mexican public ministry where the women had gone to denounce him for domestic violence, authorities said.
Cristofer Gerardo opened fire on the women inside the offices of the Prosecutor's Office in the municipality of Poncitlán, in the state of Jalisco, and
then fled
, reported the state prosecutor, Luis Joaquín Méndez.
One of the victims was identified only as
Liliana, his wife
, while the name of the other, his mother-in-law, is unknown.
The women were 21 and 45 years old, respectively.
"The attack was so rapid that it could not be neutralized," Méndez said, according to the newspaper El País, and detailed that the suspect opened fire in front of officials from the Prosecutor's Office, none of whom were carrying weapons.
He also said the man threatened the employees with his gun before attacking the women.
Offices of the Prosecutor's Office of the municipality of Poncitlán, in Jalisco, Mexico.Google Maps
The authorities said that both women had gone to the offices to denounce Cristofer Gerardo for domestic violence.
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The mother died at the scene, while the daughter died while receiving medical attention at a local hospital in Ocotlán, a neighboring community.
The car in which the attacker arrived at the offices remained parked in the middle of the street after his escape and the Prosecutor's Office hopes to use it as evidence in the case.
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Local authorities said they are working with the National Guard to locate the suspect and arrest him.
"We have some information that the subject may have been seen in the immediate vicinity of the area," Mendez said.
The macho attack has rekindled popular outrage in Mexico, a country devastated by femicides and gender violence.
Some 3,500 women are murdered every year in the country
, at an average of almost 10 per day.
Most of these crimes go unpunished.
