SALTILLO, Coahuila – An attack by cartel gunmen in this border state set off a series of fierce gun battles where nine gunmen died and two police officers sustained multiple injuries.

Citizen journalists in Saltillo recorded the sounds of the gun battles and shared the videos on social media as a way to document the intensity of the shootouts.

Balacera en #Saltillo #Coahuila entre delincuentes y policías Estatales dejó 9 muertos, 7 hombres y 2 mujeres en la col. Loma Linda…asi se escuchó. pic.twitter.com/AJfOqRXWpp — María (@marychuyglez) April 27, 2019

The violence began on Saturday morning when a group of Coahuila state police officers attempted to carry out a series of routine patrols in the western side of Saltillo near the Loma Linda neighborhood. When they tried to stop a vehicle with cartel gunmen, a gun battle ensued, information released by the Coahuila government revealed. Saltillo is the state capital of Coahuila and is less than 50 miles west from the industrial city of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, an area that has seen a recent spike in cartel violence.

Instead of stopping, the cartel gunmen began shooting at the police officers. The gun battle left two gunmen injured while the rest managed to escape. The gunmen fled to a nearby home that was being used as a cartel hideout. The injured cops called for help and additional police forces rushed to the scene.

Authorities managed to track down the cartel gunmen to their hideout where a second gun battle took place. During that firefight, authorities managed to kill nine cartel gunmen inside the house.

#ÚLTIMAHORA #SALTILLO En la ciudad más segura de México, el saldo extraoficial del enfrentamiento en la colonia Loma Linda es de tres policías lesionados y nueve civiles sin vida

enfrentamiento en #Saltillo @blogdelnarcomx pic.twitter.com/6NaZ0K6yhV — Richie Cantú (@_RichieCantu) April 27, 2019

Editor’s Note: Breitbart News traveled to the Mexican States of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, and Nuevo León to recruit citizen journalists willing to risk their lives and expose the cartels silencing their communities. The writers would face certain death at the hands of the various cartels that operate in those areas including the Gulf Cartel and Los Zetas if a pseudonym were not used. Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles are published in both English and in their original Spanish. This article was written by “J.M. Martinez” from Coahuila.