Eleven killed at bar in Mexico after drunk man who was kicked out returns to fire-bomb

Suspect had been kicked out for harassing women

Eleven people were killed when an intoxicated man returned to fire-bomb a bar in a Mexican border town, authorities said.

The suspect had earlier been kicked out of the Beer House in San Luis Río Colorado, close to the Arizona city of San Luis, for harassing women.

The blaze erupted at about 1.30am on Saturday, Mexican officials said. The victims included a 17-year-old, an American woman, and several members of a music group who had been playing in the bar, state attorney general Gustavo Rómulo Salas Chávez told reporters on Sunday.

The suspect was arrested on Saturday and is being interrogated by police.

Six people were treated in hospital for injuries sustained in the fire. Three were transferred to Arizona for treatment, and one remains in hospital, the attorney general said.

The suspect had arrived at the bar at about midnight on Saturday before being removed at about 1.20am by security staff for drunkenly harassing female patrons, Mr Salas Chávez said.

“According to versions (from) several witnesses, the person with a young, male appearance was disrespecting women in that bar and was expelled,” according to an English translation of a statement from the attorney general’s office.

Security cameras showed the suspect allegedly back-up his pickup truck to the bar entrance, took out gasoline and pour it around the entrance, the attorney general said. He then used a blowtorch to ignite the fire.

Eleven people died when a bar was intentionally burned in the town of San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora state, Mexico on July 22, 2023 (La Tremenda Cosa/AFP via Getty )

The suspect has not been identified. The alleged arson is not believed to be connected to an extortion attempt, Mr Salas Chávez said.

Footage shared by the San Luis Rio Colorado volunteer firefighter brigade shows the bar engulfed in flames as emergency responders try to tamp down the flames.

In recent years, Mexico has suffered dozens of deaths in arson attacks at entertainment facilities linked to the drug cartel wars.

In 2019, 27 people were killed in the Mexican state of Veracruz after assailants locked a nightclub doors and set fire to the building.

And in 2011, 52 people were killed when gunmen connected to the Zetas cartel set fire to a casino in the city of Monterrey.