Gunmen opened fire on a bar in the Mexican state of Veracruz, killing six people including a local boss of the Zetas drug cartel and a journalist, officials said.

According to witness testimony, Veracruz officials claim that five gunmen stormed the bar and began shooting at the victims before leaving the place.

The office said two other reporters were present at the bar, but were not targeted in the attack and are under government protection.

Authorities rushing to the scene of the shooting ended up pursuing and fighting with the gunmen who managed to escape.

Santos’s death brings to 15 the number of journalists killed in Veracruz since 2010, making the Gulf state one of the most unsafe regions in the world for reporters.

Some facets of the attack seemed to suggest that Santos Carrera and other reporters had been meeting at the bar with one or two local leaders of the vicious Zetas drug cartel.

Puebla state police said late Thursday the victims were not killed at the spot where they were dumped. The attackers eventually succeeded in getting away after the shootout, while two of the police officers were injured in the gunfire.

Veracruz has seen 13 journalists killed in the state since Gov. Javier Duarte took office in 2010. It was not clear if they were receiving money, he said. “They are being given protection and are under investigation; they will have to explain what they were doing there at that table with the gang boss”, Abella Garcia said.

Veracruz, a state riven by corruption, crime and turf battle between drug gangs, has been a notoriously risky state for journalists.

On July 31, photojournalist Ruben Espinosa and four women were murdered in a Mexico City apartment. Espinosa had fled Veracruz after he says he was harassed.