Nuevo Laredo, Mexico---An inactive grenade was thrown at a city hall in Mexico's violence-plagued northern state of Tamaulipas on Wednesday, causing panic after a week of gunfights that killed 14 people.
The municipal office of Matamoros, a city of 500,000 people which lies across the border from the Texas city of Brownsville, was evacuated after the device was tossed in the parking lot.
"It never presented a danger because it was not live," a state government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The official did not know the motive behind the grenade threat.
Matamoros Mayor Leticia Salazar had warned residents to take precautions on Tuesday because of the "risky situation" caused by the "bouts of violence reported in the last few hours." She canceled a public event on Wednesday.
The state is home to the Zetas and Gulf cartels, which have fought each other and the authorities for years. The Gulf gang has also experienced internal power struggles.
The first in a series of clashes took place on Sunday when three suspected criminals were killed in a battle with federal forces in Matamoros. Two more suspects were killed by police on Monday.
Another eight were killed on Tuesday in two gun battles with the authorities on a road linking Matamoros and the border city of Reynosa.
One of the 14 deaths this week came in a shootout between criminals.
AFP
