A Mexican mayor was shot dead on his way to his first meeting just hours after being sworn in.

Alejandro Aparicio Santiago was assassinated by a group of gunmen as he headed to the city hall in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca.

He was taken to hospital, where he later died.

Oaxaca’s governor, Alejandro Murat, said he “strongly condemned” the attack.

In a tweet after the shooting, he said a suspect was already being held in custody over the killing.

Mexican mayor Alejandro Aparicio Santiago was shot dead as he headed to the city hall in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, for his first meeting just hours after being sworn in. (Alejandro Aparicio Santiago/Twitter)

“I requested a thorough investigation from the attorney General and he informs me that he has already arrested the probable perpetrator,” he said.

Support free-thinking journalism and attend Independent events

“I express my condolences to the family and the people of Tlaxiaco.”

According to the state prosecutor’s office, a drugs gang is suspected of being behind the attack, which injured four other people, including a politician in the party of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

President Obrador has campaigned to restore order to the country by ending corruption and the drug wars in Mexico.