(NewsNation) — Ten officers and seven guards were killed on Sunday when gunmen attacked a prison in Ciudad Juarez, which sits just across the border from El Paso, Texas.
The Chihuahua state prosecutor’s office said in a statement that around 7 a.m., various armored vehicles arrived at the prison and gunmen opened fire on guards. Meanwhile, an additional three officers were wounded and ten inmates were injured. It is believed that 27 inmates have escaped.
Mexican soldiers and state police regained control of the prison later Sunday. The state prosecutor’s office said its personnel were investigating.
In August, a riot inside the same state prison spread to the streets of Juarez in violence that left 11 people dead.
In that case, two inmates were killed inside the prison and then alleged gang members started shooting up the town, including killing four employees of a radio station who were doing a promotion at a restaurant.
Violence is frequent in Mexican prisons, including in some where authorities only maintain nominal control. Clashes regularly erupt among inmate of rival gangs, which in places like Juarez serve as proxies for drug cartels.
Shortly before Sunday’s attack on the prison, municipal police were attacked and managed to capture four men after a pursuit, according to the state prosecutor’s office statement. Later, police killed two alleged gunmen traveling in a SUV.