Ismael Figueroa, the leader of Mexico City's firefighters' union in a photo posted on his official Facebook page. Figueroa and three other union representatives were injured by a gunman in the fashionable Condesa neighborhood in Mexico City.

An unidentified Mexico City police officer stands guard over the crime scene where four people were injured by gunfire in Parque México in the upscale Condesa neighborhood popular with tourists to Mexico City. Authorities said four firefighters' union representatives were injured, including Ismael Figueroa, the firefighter's union leader. Six people have been killed by gunfire in Mexico City since Wednesday. Photo by Patrick Timmons/UPI

MEXICO CITY, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Four firefighters' union representatives, including the union leader, Ismael Figueroa, were injured by gunfire in the upscale Condesa neighborhood in Mexico City early Friday afternoon.

It's been a bloody few days in Mexico City. The gunfire in the leafy Condesa neighborhood adds to the city's casualty rate. Since Wednesday evening, six people have been murdered and four injured by gunfire in the capital.


Ismael Figueroa, the union leader, and the three other firefighters were in a street bordering the popular Parque Mexico when a gunman referred to as Fabian 'N' by city authorities opened fire. The park is a green jewel in the heart of the popular Condesa neighborhood, with restaurants, shops and open spaces attracting large numbers of tourists.

For the first 10 months of 2018 there have been at least 990 murders in Mexico City and 24,000 murders nationwide. There have been 3,406 more murders in Mexico this year than in the same period for 2017, Mexico's bloodiest year to date.

Mexico City's mayor José Ramón Amieva said in a news conference Figueroa was shot six times, with critical injuries to the his shoulder, thorax and abdomen. The union leader was transferred immediately to hospital for surgery. City authorities say they have detained Fabian 'N'. There is no report on the other casualties.

Hours before the attempt on his life, Figueroa tweeted he had just met with the city's mayor, who agreed to a bonus for firefighters to end his term in office. The mayor leaves office on Friday, with new mayor Claudia Sheinbaum taking up her duties on Dec. 1.

Immediately after the attempted murder, authorities cordoned off the area and closed the street to traffic. Four hours later, police officers still stood guard waiting for forensic scientists to arrive to begin their work of evidence collection.

"This type of event is really unusual for this area," an unidentified police officer told UPI.