Masked gunmen slay family collecting body at Honduras morgue, kill 9

TEGUCIGALPA (Reuters) – Masked gunmen attacked a family collecting a body from a morgue in the ultraviolent Honduran city of San Pedro Sula on Tuesday, killing nine people including four of the deceased’s kin.

The family of Jose Luis Terrero, a state contractor killed on Monday night, were at the morgue to pick up his body when men opened fire, German Alfaro, the head of the national security and investigation force, said.

“The information we have is that various men with masks on their faces came in at least two vehicles and opened fire on members of Terrero’s family and other employees of a funeral home,” Alfaro said.

Four of Terrero’s family, two bodyguards, a friend of the family and two funeral home employees were killed outside the morgue, Alfaro added.

San Pedro Sula is the city with the highest murder rate in the world.

(Reporting by Gustavo Palencia; Writing by Christine Murray; Editing by Robert Birsel)