Armed men burst into a casino in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey on Thursday and set a fire that killed at least 52 people and injured several others, the authorities said.
The attack, shortly after 3 p.m. at the Casino Royale, was the worst massacre, according to tallies by Mexican news organizations, since a crackdown on drug gangs by the authorities and infighting among the gangs exploded more than five years ago.
Monterrey, once a peaceful business and industrial hub in Nuevo Leon State, has been hit hard by the violence as at least two major criminal organizations battle for control. Bodies are regularly found hanging from overpasses, several people have been killed in bars and the American consulate there has moved the younger children of its workers from the city.
Casinos, growing in number across the country, have also emerged lately as targets of extortion, violence and money laundering.
President Felipe Calderón, who began a major offensive against organized crime in 2006, lamented on his Twitter account “this perverse act of terror and barbarity” and said it showed the need to persevere in the fight against crime.
Nuevo Leon’s governor, Rodrigo Medina, said in a telephone interview broadcast on television by Milenio that it appears six men arrived at the casino in two vehicles, spread a flammable liquid and lighted it. El Norte, a local newspaper, quoted witnesses as saying that at least a dozen men entered and ordered everyone to get out, setting off a stampede for the few exits that was accompanied by explosions, smoke and flames.
Many victims appeared to be women and the elderly, who often bet there.
Mr. Medina said no motive had been determined, and he would not comment on reports that the casino may have refused to pay protection money to a gang.
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