A team of gunmen murdered a toddler during a cartel hit in the central Mexican state of Guanajuato. The young boy was one of the victims in the latest murder to rock the once peaceful state that has become another battleground for drug cartels.

The toddler’s lifeless body was discovered inside a minivan; he had been shot multiple times. Authorities had initially responded to multiple calls from residents in the city of León Guanajuato about a team of gunmen who had attacked a family in the Rivera de la Presa neighborhood, information released to Breitbart Texas revealed.

Authorities arrived at the scene and found the lifeless body of the toddler, as well as the body of 60-year-old Jorge Mojica. Emergency medical personnel rushed two other women to a local hospital. One of the women has been described as the child’s mother. All of the victims had been shot multiple times. Police carried out a search for the team of suspected gunmen who are believed to have fled on a motorcycle and in a Volkswagen sedan. Authorities have not revealed a motive for the assassination, nor which cartel is believed to be responsible for the murder.

The gruesome murder comes at a time when violence continues to escalate in the once peaceful state of Guanajuato. As Breitbart Texas reported, Mexico’s Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generación has been making a push for control of the region and theft of stolen fuel.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and Stephen K. Bannon. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded the Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and Stephen K. Bannon. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.